Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin questioned Sanju Samson’s handling by the team management amid the T20I series against Afghanistan. Chasing 157 runs for the win, Samson was dismissed cheaply after scoring 10 runs off eight deliveries, after he was picked ahead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the final XI.
The Indian opener holed out to a deep square-leg fielder while playing the pull shot but could not get the distance. Samson returned to the squad after he was dropped in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
After a splendid run in the T20 World Cup, Samson was dropped from the playing XI against England in the second T20I after three low scores.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “If you are Samson, won’t you feel that you did brilliantly in the World Cup and then in Ireland, the pitches were like bisi bele bath and all the batters struggled like me. Then he failed one game in England and got dropped. He must be experiencing difficult mental battles and wondering why no one understands his position. His journey hasn’t been easy, considering he started in 2014.”
“When he plays well, people give the feeling of saying, ‘I told you so that time itself’. Yet, when he fails, they’ll say he never plays well and is inconsistent so they put pressure on him. You are never sure if the accusation from people is about Samson failing or about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sitting out because of him playing. You wonder how it’ll feel to be Sanju Samson.”
On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar urged the team’s think tank to give a long run to Sanju Samson.
“Sanju Samson or any player, for that matter, you must be given five matches at least in a row. Only then will you get results. This is not magic that in one match you deliver, unless you have good luck written all over you. You can’t play with the thought that I have to score in a given match,” said Shankar (via the aforementioned source).
“Samson had an extraordinary T20 World Cup and did brilliantly in the following IPL also. What else can a player do? He definitely needs to get more continuous opportunities. Once he is a proven player for India, he’s good enough. After that, playing with the fear of having to deliver in one or two matches is very difficult. It’s impossible to play every game with a sword around your neck.”
Samson scored 321 runs in the T20 World Cup at a strike rate of almost 200 and was awarded Player of the Tournament.
The second T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played on Tuesday in Delhi.
