Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra raised a question over Jitesh Sharma's non-inclusion in India's XI in their final Group A Asia Cup 2025 match against Oman on Friday, September 19. Jitesh is yet to feature in the ongoing continental tournament, with India opting for Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper-batter.
Pointing to the batting position of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, Chopra felt that it would have been better to include Jitesh against Oman if Suryakumar had decided that he will not bat.
"Tilak Varma came to bat very low in the order. Surya didn't come to bat at all, and that brought a question to my mind. You could have played Jitesh if Surya wasn't going to bat at all. I am thinking when you will play Jitesh. You have played all the players in this team. Only Jitesh, who seemed to be a 100-percent sure-shot starter, is left," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
The cricketer-turned-commentator felt that with India already qualifying for the Super Four stage, the fixture against Oman presented the perfect opportunity for the team management to give some game time Jitesh instead of Sanju Samson.
"You need a keeper-batter in the middle-order. So play him, but they didn't play him. I am seeing the wicketkeeping slot as a result of slightly muddled thinking. The other guy in that race is not being given a chance to run. This could have been that opportunity," he added.
Indiaeventually won the match by 21 runs, with Samson securing the Player of the Match accolade for his 45-ball 56, which included three fours and as many sixes. There were eight bowlers employed by Suryakumar in only the third such instance for India in a T20I fixture. Hardik Pandya was the most impressive, conceding only 26 runs in his quota while picking up a wicket.
Oman put up a good fight with the ball and bat. Shah Faisal (2/23 in four overs), Aamir Kaleem (64 off 46) and Hammad Mirza (51 off 33) were the standout performers for the Jatinder Singh-led unit. The Men in Blue made it to the Super Four by winning all three of their league phase fixtures.
