IND vs AFG: Rohit Sharma stunned as fans go wild listening to Sanju Samson's name in India playing 11 for 3rd T20I

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IND vs AFG: India captain Rohit Sharma was stunned and left smiling after the fans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru went wild hearing Sanju Samson's name in the India playing eleven for the third T20I against Afghanistan on Wednesday, January 17.

Rohit Sharma won the toss and announced that his team would bat first to challenge themselves. Notably, India opted to field in the first two T20Is after winning the toss. The 36-year-old then announced that Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel and Jitesh Sharma would be making way for Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav and Sanju Samson, respectively in the India eleven.

There was a loud cheer as soon as the fans heard Sanju Samson's name coming out of Rohit Sharma's mouth. Rohit also made note and smiled before announcing the names of Avesh and Kuldeep. Here's the video.

Jitesh Sharma played ahead of Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper-batter in the first two T20Is. India won the two matches to take an unassailable 2-0 lead and Samson was expected to feature in the dead rubber.

The superstar batter from Kerala recently smashed an ODI hundred in South Africa to earn a T20I comeback. His last outing in the format for India was back in August last year.

The 29-year-old was snubbed for the Asia Cup 2023 and World Cup 2023. He wasn't named in the T20I squad for the 5-match series against Australia immediately after the World Cup 2023. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain was also ignored for the South Africa T20Is.

Sanju Samson would be aiming to leave an impact in the match. This is India's last T20I match before the T20 World Cup 2024 which starts from June 1. Samson would be eyeing for a spot by scoring big in the third T20I, and the IPL 2024.

India playing 11 for 3rd T20I vs Afghanistan: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson(w), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan