Sanju Samson had opened the innings in the first two T20Is with Abhishek Sharma.
Team India’s explosive batter Abhishek Sharma showered rich praise on keeper-batter Sanju Samson for showing ‘selfless character’ by moving to the no. 3 spot to let Vaibhav Sooryavanshi open the innings and putting the team's needs before personal gains.
This happened after Sooryavanshi and Abhishek opened for India in the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington. Before that, Sanju Samson and Abhishek had opened for India in the second T20I in Christchurch, after the teenager replaced injured Ishan Kishan in the India XI. But he failed to get going at no. 3, scoring 4 runs before getting dismissed.
However, chasing 199 runs to win the third T20I and pocket the series, Sooryavanshi hammered 45 runs in 19 balls, hitting 4 sixes and 4 fours, while Abhishek slammed 113 runs in 38 balls with 11 sixes and 9 fours, adding 133 runs for the first wicket, as India won the game in 13.2 overs and six wickets in hand.
Abhishek Sharma was greatly impressed by Sanju Samson's attitude, since the seasoned batter accepted the change even though he had been performing well in his usual batting position. The left-handed opener stated that Samson's agreement was crucial in fostering the freedom that enabled India to deliver a record-breaking performance.
"We opened today, but Sanju Bhai has been opening, so we can see that everyone in the team is selfless. I feel that the atmosphere that the team showed today will make it easy for everyone,” Abhishek said in a video shared by BCCI.
He then referred to Samson's innings in the earlier matches and explained how readily the senior batter had embraced a different role in the lineup. Abhishek said that this attitude is a big sign of a champion team, where players put the team's needs above personal roles.
“Like Sanju Bhai played his innings in the last 2 matches, I feel everyone, someone is going at his position; they can feel yaar... but the way Sanju Bhai showed his character, I feel the whole team did; it was amazing. There is a lot of shuffling; anyone can bat at any number, and everyone bats happily. I feel this is a sign of a champion team,” Abhishek added.
See here: