India is all set to take on Afghanistan in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. This will be a crucial series for Shreyas Iyer and his team, as it will act as preparation for them before they aim to retain their gold medal in the Asian Games 2026. However, according to former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, the one major concern heading into this series is the team management not finding a spot for Sanju Samson.
Speaking in a video on his Instagram profile, Dinesh Karthik expressed concern regarding the Indian batting order ahead of the Afghanistan series. He particularly questioned the omission of Sanju Samson from the lineup to make way for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, despite him having a stellar campaign in India’s victorious journey in the T20 World Cup 2026, where he won the Player of the Tournament.
“What is the batting order going to look like? Where does Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stand, and what about Sanju Samson? How are you going to fit him in? He was such an important player in the World Cup and was dropped midway through that England series. Where does he stand?” Karthik said.
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‘I want the team to understand their identity’
Dinesh Karthik also said that he wants the Indian T20I team, who have a new captain in Shreyas Iyer, to find their identity, especially after they suffered series defeats against Ireland and England, where they were completely outplayed.
“I want this Indian T20 team to understand what their identity is. New captain, new vice-captain. They haven’t got the result in Ireland or in England. They were absolutely outplayed there. What does it take?” Karthik said.
“What is their plan? What is the bowling looking like? Who are the players you are going to trust? A lot of this is not just about winning the series; it’s about understanding what they need to take out from this series against Afghanistan,” the batting coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) added.