IND vs SL: It seems like the stars are not aligned for Sanju Samson as he has been ruled out of the T20I Series against Sri Lanka after sustaining a knee injury during the first T20I of the series. Vidarbha & PBKS wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has been added to the squad for the second & third T20I.
As per BCCI’s Official release, Sanju Samson suffered a knee injury while attempting to field a ball near the boundary ropes during the first T20I. BCCI further said that Samson was taken for scans in the afternoon in Mumbai by the BCCI Medical team & has been advised rest & rehabilitation by specialist doctors.
Meanwhile, India won the first T20I held in Mumbai by two runs on the 3rd of January. Batting first India was able to post a respectable total of 162-5. Thanks to the match-winning partnership between Deepak Hooda (41) and Axar Patel (31) as the duo added 68 runs for the sixth wicket to help India post a decent total on board. Samson’s stint was not impressive in the first Test as he could post just 5 runs on board while in the second innings, he dropped a crucial catch off Nissanka in the first over.
IND vs SL: Jitesh Sharma has been named in India’s Squad as Samson’s replacement
Jitesh has been added to India’s squad as Samson’s cover for the remaining two T20Is of the series. Talking about Jitesh’s career stint he had featured for Punjab kings in iPL 2022 where he amassed 234 runs in 12 matches with a stunning strike rate of 163.63. For Punjab Kings, Jitesh has always played a finisher’s role & was one of the 16 players who was retained by the PBKS franchise ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.
Jitesh Sharma displayed great character in the 2022 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while playing for Vidarbha scoring 224 runs in ten fixtures at a strike rate of 175.00. Meanwhile, Samson’s absence might provide an opportunity for Rahul Tripathi to make his debut in the T20I format. Though Tripathi has been named in India’s T20I Squad, he is yet to make his debut in the format. India is currently leading the series with 1-0 score. The second T20I of the series will be played at MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday.
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