Former India player Aakash Chopra has speculated whether the Men in Blue could have included Jitesh Sharma in their playing XI during their Asia Cup 2025 clash against Oman if Suryakumar Yadav was not expected to bat. He pointed out that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter was seemingly a certainty in the XI before the tournament began.
Suryakumar did not come out to bat as India posted a total of 188/8 in their Asia Cup 2025 Group A clash against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday, September 19. The defending champions then restricted Jatinder Singh and company to 167/4, registering a 21-run victory.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India opener expressed that Jitesh could have been included in the playing XI if Suryakumar had not planned to bat.
“Tilak Varma came to bat very low in the order. Surya didn’t come to bat at all, and that brought a question to my mind. You could have played Jitesh if Surya wasn’t going to bat at all. I am thinking, when will you play Jitesh? You have played all the players in this team. Only Jitesh, who seemed to be a 100-percent sure-shot starter, is left,” he said at 5:05 in the video.
Chopra further added that Jitesh is yet to be given a chance to compete with Sanju Samson for the wicketkeeper-batter’s spot.
“You need a keeper-batter in the middle order. So play him, but they didn’t play him. I am seeing the wicketkeeping slot as a result of slightly muddled thinking. The other guy in that race is not being given a chance to run. This could have been that opportunity,” he observed.
Highlighting Jitesh Sharma’s impressive recent performances, the former cricketer noted that he might have fared very well, given his excellent run in IPL 2025. However, Chopra believes that the team management is probably settled on Sanju Samson as their wicketkeeper-batter regardless of his batting position.
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### “He held the team together as wickets were falling” — Aakash Chopra on Sanju Samson’s innings in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 clash
Reflecting on Sanju Samson’s knock against Oman, Aakash Chopra acknowledged that although the wicketkeeper-batter did not look convincing at the start, he played a crucial role in holding the innings together.
“Sanju Samson came at No. 3. Batting wasn’t easy. There were difficulties in the beginning and the fast bowling was troubling him a little. He didn’t look very convincing to begin with, but eventually, what matters is that he scored runs. He scored more than 50 runs and held the team together as wickets were falling at the other end,” he said in the same video.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Samson needed to play the anchor role and make the most of the opportunity to bat at No. 3.
“Hardik Pandya had gotten out for one and Shubman Gill had gotten out earlier. Axar Patel was running at double his speed; he was running at a strike rate of 200, but Sanju was there. Sanju showed that he can play an anchor’s role as well. He will not get the No. 3 position again, so you can understand what he was thinking,” Chopra observed.
Sanju Samson scored 56 runs off 45 balls, including three fours and three sixes. He came out to bat in the second over and was dismissed off the fourth ball of the 18th over.
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**About the author**
*Kartik Iyer* is a cricket writer at Sportskeeda with four years of professional experience. He writes news articles and strives to deliver authentic and accurate content by sourcing information only from credible sources.
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