'Samson Over Pant': Ex-India Star Weighs In On India's CT Squad

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh feels Axar Patel is ready to fill in Ravindra Jadeja’s shoes for the all-rounder role for India. He also pondered India’s wicketkeeping options and felt Sanju Samson being picked ahead of Rishabh Pant could be a possibility for the Champions Trophy. After months of uncertainty, the Champions Trophy is almost a month away from returning after seven years. Speculations have been building around the possible players who could feature in the list of players that the BCCI decides to put its faith in.

Jadeja, an all-rounder who has delivered in all spectrums of the game for years, is now facing a scenario where he could be axed from the squad.

With the recent surge of Axar Patel, there are high chance that only one out of the two could be on the plane to Dubai. If such a scenario arises, Harbhajan wants Axar to be in Dubai with the Men in Blue ahead of the seasoned all-rounder.

“I have chosen Axar Patel over Ravindra Jadeja. I think Axar is ready to fulfil the role that Jadeja has done for so many years,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.

Another dilemma that India needs to address is the wicketkeeping options. Rishabh Pant was considered to be the hot pick in the department before a life-threatening accident in 2022 kept him out of action till 2024.

During that period, India tried out many players in the position but never got the satisfaction or confidence. Since Pant made his return, Sanju Samson has become a hot prospect in the white-ball format.

After Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is, Sanju grabbed the opportunity with both hands. While opening for India in the shortest format of cricket, he showed his class against Bangladesh on home turf with a century.

The experienced batter then went on to etch his name in the history book by becoming the first batter to tonk three centuries in T20Is in a calendar year.

With Pant going through a long tour of Australia, Harbhajan feels it won’t be a “big thing” if Samson is preferred for the Champions Trophy over the explosive southpaw.

“I think one among Sanju Samson or Rishabh Pant should be picked. I feel Sanju should be preferred because he had played in South Africa. Rishabh played well in Australia, but it was a long tour, so if he is rested, it’s not a big thing,” Harbhajan added.

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