India preparing Sanju Samson as backup for KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer for ODI World Cup, opines R Ashwin

Veteran Indian off-spinner R Ashwin feels India are preparing Sanju Samson as a backup for KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who are closing in on full fitness ahead of the Asia Cup and ODI World Cup. The Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue raised a lot of eyebrows for their constant experiments in the recent ODIs versus hosts West Indies.They shuffled their batting order and also rested the likes of regular skipper Rohit and Virat Kohli. With Rahul and Iyer's return still not confirmed, they even tried Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson in the middle. Thus, Ashwin commented on the batting experiments and feels India are preparing backups until Rahul and Iyer return.

'They are keeping different strategies...'

Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, "Both (KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer) of them are coming out of injuries. I think they will return during the Asia Cup only. But who is the backup for either of them? If one of them is unable to return before the World Cup, and that's why they have tried out Sanju Samson. They also tried Axar Patel at No. 4. I think they are keeping different strategies for T20 and ODI formats."

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Talking about Samson, the right-hander failed to get going in the rain-hit second and penultimate ODI but slammed an impressive 41-ball 51 in the series decider, where Hardik Pandya & Co. won by 200 runs. However, Samson is yet to get going in the ongoing five T20Is.

Ashwin further commented on Tilak Verma, who made his India debut during the ongoing T20Is, in the Caribbean island. While India have lost two games on the trot, Tilak has been India's standout performer with the bat with scores of 39 (21) and 51 (41). On the Mumbai Indians' (MI) star batter, the 36-year-old Ashwin stated,"The emergence of Tilka Varma has made everyone take notice of him. He looked in imperious touch even on that slow pitch in the first T20I. His batting style looked very unlike for an Indian making his international debut. His game resembles a lot of Rohit Sharma. He sweats on the pull."

He added, "Generally, Indian batters won't set up to play the pull shot. They will find the answer later as they will have all the other shots. Pull shot is something they will develop. But his game looks like has a natural pull shot and sends the ball outside the boundary rope like an Australian."

Talking about India's preparations for the forthcoming Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup, in October-November, they are trying different combinations and giving varied roles to the available players whereas Rahul and Iyer are working hard to get fully fit and stage a comeback.

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