Will Sanju Samson Replace Shivam Dube In India’s Lineup Against Bangladesh?

India may consider changes to their playing XI for the second Super 8 match against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled for Saturday in Antigua. A win against Bangladesh would virtually secure India’s spot in the semi-finals, following their victory over Afghanistan in the first Group 1 match.

Despite a convincing 47-run win over Afghanistan on Thursday, India faced initial challenges when openers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to make significant contributions once again. Rishabh Pant and Shivan Dube made modest scores of 20 and 10 respectively, before Suryakumar Yadav’s 53 and Hardik Pandya’s crucial 32 stabilized the innings.

India’s bowlers, led by Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah with three wickets each, ensured a comfortable victory.

Batting remains a concern for India, as highlighted by their recent matches against USA and Afghanistan, where Suryakumar Yadav’s half-centuries rescued them after top and middle-order failures.

Despite this, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour confirmed that Virat Kohli, who has scored only 29 runs in four matches, will continue to open for India. Consequently, Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to remain on the bench.

“Obviously we want him to score but even when he hasn’t, the others have chipped in, which is a good sign. But Virat stays at the top of the order and we know he will get the runs,” Rathour said on the eve of India’s match.

However, the main concern for India is that captain Rohit Sharma is currently struggling with form.

Regarding the middle order, there have been suggestions to replace Shivam Dube with Sanju Samson to strengthen the batting. This is an area where many anticipate India might make a change. However, Dube, batting at No. 5, is expected to retain his role as a finisher, whereas Samson typically opens or bats higher up the order. This could once again work in Dube’s favor.

Apart from this potential change, India is likely to maintain the rest of their lineup from the Afghanistan match. They already made one alteration in that game by replacing Mohammed Siraj with spinner Kuldeep Yadav to suit the spin-friendly conditions in West India. The Indian team is expected to stick with the same bowling attack, which includes two left-arm spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

India likely XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

Bangladesh likely XI: Tanzid Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman