Why Sanju Samson is not playing today: Why is Harshal Patel not playing today’s 2nd T20I between India and Sri Lanka in Pune?

During the second T20I of Sri Lanka’s tour of India 2023 in Pune, India captain Hardik Pandya has won the toss and chose to bowl due to the same reason why his counterpart Dasun Shanaka had bowled in the first T20I in Mumbai.

“Going to bowl first. Thought that the dew might come later and the wicket looks good. Happy with the way we bowled and fielded [in the first match],” Pandya told Star Sports at the toss.

Referring to how two out of three T20Is at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium have been won by the team batting first, Shanaka got what he wanted in spite of losing the toss.

“Stats suggest batting first is better. Would’ve batted. Important for top-order to click in. I think players will do well in this game,” Shanaka told Star Sports at the toss.

Why Sanju Samson is not playing today vs Sri Lanka?

Despite coming on the back of a victory, India have made a couple of changes to their Playing XI. While batter Rahul Tripathi has been handed a debut on his home ground, pacer Arshdeep Singh has recovered from an illness.

As a result, batter Sanju Samson and pacer Harshal Patel aren’t playing this match. Readers must note that Samson has been ruled out of this series due to a knee injury. Samson, who didn’t have the best of nights on Tuesday, injured his knee while fielding in the second innings.

Patel, on the other hand, has had to make way for a more established name in Singh. With Shivam Mavi picking four wickets on T20I debut at the Wankhede Stadium, India rightly opted against leaving out an in-form bowler. In his last 10 T20I innings, Patel’s nine wickets have come at an average of 39.66, an economy rate of 10 and a strike rate of 23.7.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, haven’t made any change to their Playing XI. Having lost 11 T20Is in a row against India in India, Sri Lanka would be banking on the fact that their last T20I victory had come at this stadium.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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