Virat Kohli returned to his hometown, and the crowd in Bengaluru warmly welcomed Sanju Samson as he made a comeback to the T20I side in the 3rd T20I against Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma acknowledged the crowd’s support with a smile, reacting to the enthusiastic cheer when he announced Samson’s return as the wicketkeeper-batsman.
Winning the toss for the third consecutive time in the T20I series against Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma opted for India to bat at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Making three changes to the playing XI, India rested Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma. Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson were brought in as replacements.
Rohit Sharma accurately recalled all three changes and seemed prepared for the crowd’s response at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Sanju Samson enjoys significant popularity among cricket fans nationwide, even prompting supporters to display messages for the wicketkeeper-batsman, even when he is not actively playing.
Look how’s crowd reacted when Rohit sharma announced that Sanju Samson is playing 💥🥵🔥
Thats why everyone is jealous of him 🥵💥
Sanju fan following is huge 🔥💥#Sanju #SanjuSamson #INDvsAFG #IndianCricket pic.twitter.com/6E1I1b9NjZ
— Kattar_Fan_RajasthanRoyals (@HrithikRoars) January 17, 2024
This marked Samson’s return to the T20I squad for the first time since August 2023. His last appearance in the T20I side was during India’s tour of Ireland, missing subsequent series at home against Australia and the T20I series in South Africa. Nonetheless, Samson remained in contention with a noteworthy performance, scoring a match-winning hundred in the ODI series decider against South Africa in Paarl in December.
Sanju Samson spent the first two T20Is on the sidelines, with Jitesh Sharma taking up the wicketkeeping duties. In the third T20I, India decided to evaluate their bench strength, recognizing that this match is their last international T20 assignment before the T20 World Cup scheduled for June.
Also Read: ICC Rankings: Indians Featuring Shivam Dube Climb High In T20 Rankings After Win Vs Afghanistan
