'Persist with Sanju': Cheteshwar Pujara warns India against replacing Samson with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Former India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara threw his weight behind Sanju Samson to continue in India's playing XI ahead of the second T20I against England, saying the wicketkeeper-batter should not be dropped to make way for teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.With calls growing for Sooryavanshi's international debut, Pujara said Samson has done enough to deserve a longer run in the side and should not be under pressure for a spot.

"I think India should persist with Sanju Samson. I don't think he should be feeling any pressure. He has proved himself in the T20 World Cup and, with the kind of talent he possesses, he should be there in the playing XI.""There shouldn't be a lot of noise about dropping Sanju Samson.

He is a quality player and should get a longer run. Sanju just needs to bat naturally and not think too much," Pujara said on JioStar.Pujara also said Sooryavanshi deserves his chance but felt it should not come by replacing one of India's key batters."If Vaibhav needs to play, he should play, but not at the expense of dropping someone, rather by resting someone. If you want to give him an opportunity, that is fine. But you shouldn't be dropping any of India's top three players, whether it's Sanju, Abhishek or Ishan Kishan.

Having said that, Vaibhav does deserve an opportunity, and his opportunity will come," he mentioned.Pujara also praised captain Shreyas Iyer for his responsible knock in the weather-interrupted first T20I in Durham, where India recovered from an early collapse to post a competitive total.“It was an important knock from Shreyas Iyer and, when you are leading the team, you always look to lead from the front. He showed a lot of maturity because India were in trouble after losing a couple of early wickets,” Pujara told JioStar.