“Nobody knows why Ishan Kishan isn’t there” – Aakash Chopra talks on selection of wicket keepers Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma’s for the T20i squad against Afghanistan.

Aakash Chopra has analyzed the selection dynamics of India’s T20I squad for the upcoming series against Afghanistan, expressing his viewpoint on the inclusion of Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma over Ishan Kishan. The first match of the three-game series is scheduled to take place in Mohali on Thursday (January 11), followed by matches in Indore and Bengaluru.

The selection committee named a 16-member squad on Sunday, designating Samson and Jitesh as the primary wicketkeeping choices. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra observed the absence of a formal explanation regarding Samson’s preference over Ishan Kishan as a middle-order wicketkeeper-batsman.

Aakash Chopra said “Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson are the two wicketkeepers, although Samson wasn’t kept as a keeper in the last two series. Ishan Kishan was going as a keeper but he is not there now. Nobody knows why Ishan Kishan isn’t there, that’s a different story.”

Aakash Chopra offered his perspective on the selection, suggesting that the absence of available top-order positions could be a key factor influencing the selectors’ decision to opt for Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma in the squad “You have suddenly filled up the opening slot. Virat Kohli plays at No. 3, he doesn’t play at No. 4. So the keeper has to bat down the order. You have only two keeping options who can bat down the order, one is Jitesh Sharma and the other is Sanju Samson.”