Sanju Samson should have been in place of KL Rahul in India's Asia Cup squad: Danish Kaneria

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has opined that wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson could have been in the Indian squad for the 2022 T20 Asia Cup instead of opening batter KL Rahul. Kaneria said that Rahul has just returned from an injury and he should have got more time before making a comeback to the Indian side.

To note, Rahul returned to the Indian side in the ODI series against Zimbabwe after recovering from injury, and Covid-19 to lead the Indian side. Before that, Rahul was last seen during the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL). Leading the Indian team against Zimbabwe, Rahul played a decent knock in the last match of the series.

Meanwhile, India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their tournament opener of the 2022 Asia Cup, at the Dubai International Stadium on August 28 (Sunday) with a jam-packed stadium expected for the contest. Notably, it will be the first T20I encounter for Rahul this year as he missed all the series this year due to rest or injuries.

KL Rahul should have been given some time: Danish Kaneria

“KL Rahul was coming from a big injury and then he went to Zimbabwe, and now he is going into Asia Cup squad so early. India has a Sanju Samson-type of a player who’s been doing so well. He is a fantastic cricketer and he’s been playing beautifully. Samson didn’t get consistent opportunities to play for team India. He was in and out of the squad and now he is getting opportunities because Rahul Dravid knows him so well, and he knows, what a talent he is,” Kaneria told Cricketnext.com.

“In such a case, Sanju Samson should have got the opportunity of playing in the Asia Cup and KL Rahul should have been given some time so that he can focus on T20 World Cup to be played in Australia. In Australia, there will be buoyant tracks and KL Rahul loves that kind of a track,” he added.