India vs New Zealand T20I: NZ chooses to bat; Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar dropped for decider match

India vs New Zealand T20I match: New Zealand chose to bat and India chose to ball after winning the toss ahead of the clincher match. The toss was delayed by almost an hour due to a slight drizzle at Napier. Captain Hardik Pandya said that they wanted to bowl anyway while adding that the pitch will remain the same throughout the match and that they have to exploit it to their benefit.

Pandya further said that the batsmen will do well and they know their job. Players such as Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, and Umran Malik have been dropped for this decider match. Washington Sundar has been replaced by Harshal Patel in the playing XI.

Sanju Samson’s fans were disappointed with this and took to Twitter to express their rage. A cricket enthusiast wrote, “Sanju is not even in playing eleven. It’s not your fault Sanju. Shame on you BCCI. He debuted in 2015 but has got only 16 matches.”

Another cricket lover tweeted, “How unlucky is Sanju Samson, that he doesn’t even get a chance to play in a dead rubber in the second string of x11 of the Indian team. Samson should retire and better play overseas league like Faf, at least he will get the respect he deserves.”

A Twitter user likened Sanju Samson’s rejection from the playing eleven to what Elon Musk has done to Twitter and wrote, “Even Elon Musk has not done anything to Twitter as much as the Indian team has done to Sanju Samson.”

Another user wrote, “Once again Sanju Samson faces the axe. But, fans cheering for him from the stand. He is not doing anything wrong still not finding a place in the playing eleven.”

A user asked whether India is still preparing for the upcoming T20 World Cup and tweeted, “Still no Sanju Samson and Umran Malik. Are we really preparing for next T20 World Cup?”

India’s playing eleven at the match comprise Hardik Pandya (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Ishan Kishan.

On the other hand, New Zealand’s playing eleven comprise Tim Southee (captain), Devon Conway (wicketkeeper), Mark Chapman, Finn Allen, Adam Milne, Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham and Lockie Ferguson.

Also read: India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I: Surya Kumar hits a ton and hattrick for Tim Southee

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