Sanju Samson may play vs Zimbabwe:Rinku Singh to rejoin team, says India coach Sitanshu Kotak

Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak hinted at Sanju Samson’s return in the playing XI in the Super 8 match against Zimbabwe. India, after beginning their Super 8 campaign with a defeat to South Africa, now face a must-win situation against Zimbabwe in their second match on 26 February. India and Zimbabwe will battle it out at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Not just a win but India also need to improve their Net Run Rate (NRR) which took a massive hit and is at -3.800 after the 76-run loss to the Proteas. ‘There can be changes’ says Sitanshu Kotak in press conference When speaking on India potentially making changes in their playing XI, Kotak said that it was a possibility. Despite boasting of an explosive top-order, India have not had a noteworthy opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma not being amongst the runs. With India’s top three batters all being left-handers, the opposition have turned to off-spin to strike early and that has happened in all five matches that the defending champions have played. “There can be changes. It goes without saying because there are two lefties at the top and the opposition are bowing off spinners. I personally think it is not a problem, but since we have lost early wickets, there will be thoughts,” Kotak said, when asked about Sanju Samson playing against Zimbabwe. Also read: Sanju Samson’s return, net run rate pressure: 3 talking points for India in do-or-die match vs Zimbabwe Sitanshu Kotak ‘not really concerned’ about batting failure against SA India had a horrifying batting performance against South Africa, losing three wickets inside the powerplay and were eventually bowled out for just 111 in 18.5 overs while chasing 188. The highest partnership that India had was of 35 runs between Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Prior to the T20 World Cup, India’s batting performance in bilaterals sent warnings to other teams but so far, the Men in Blue have not had a complete performance with the willow. “During the bilaterals, the batting was clicking. Last game, the batting was concerning. I’m not looking at individual failures,” he said. Kotak added, “We should take the last game in stride, it’s the worst game we’ve played in two years. Openers haven’t clicked either. It’s fine, I wouldn’t stress too much on it. Not really that concerned.” Also read: Ishan Kishan rises to No. 5 in T20I rankings:Tilak Varma slips to seventh spot; Jasprit Bumrah enters top 10 Rinku Singh to rejoin Indian camp before Zimbabwe match A day ago, Rinku Singh had rushed back home after his father was admitted to a hospital, reportedly due to liver cancer. That had left his participation against Zimbabwe in doubt, but Kotak confirmed that the left-hander would rejoin the camp this evening. Sitanshu Kotak backs Tilak Varma amid form slump One of India’s underperformers with the bat has been Tilak Varma. The left-hander, who cemented the number three spot for himself in the Indian batting order, has managed just 107 runs in five matches while striking at 118.88. Kotak backed Tilak amid his form slump and said that there were no problem with the way he has played so far. “There are no issues with how Tilak is batting. He batted well against Pakistan. For Tilak, it is a matter of two boundaries (on his strike rate). There’s no concern about his run-a-ball innings. There is no tension regarding Abhishek, Tilak or even the loss against SA,” he said. India’s batting struggled big-time on a black soil pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium against South Africa, but Kotak brushed aside all such concerns. He explained, “I don’t think we struggle on black soil. If pitches become slow in T20, batting becomes a struggle. If there’s a collapse, we can’t blame the surface. We have done reasonably well, there isn’t much concern.”