NEW DELHI: India’s wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson is again aiming for a permanent spot in the Indian cricket team, despite making his international debut nine years ago in 2015. With the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the shortest-format of the game, the new leadership – head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav- has decided to experiment with Samson as an opener in the T20I series against Bangladesh.
In the first match of the series at the New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior, Samson opened the innings with Abhishek Sharma. Samson, displaying his timing and technique, scored 29 runs off 19 balls but did not make a large impact as he was dismissed early.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra emphasized the need for consistency in upcoming matches, warning that Samson could be dropped if he does not perform well. “He is good. He scored 29 runs. My only thing was that since he had reached here, he should go slightly further ahead. He should score a few more runs because, otherwise, they would drop him. He keeps moving in and out (of the side), and up and down (the batting order),” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra praised Samson’s elegance in his shot-making during the match in Gwalior. He stated, “You need to talk about Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma was playing amazingly well until he got run out, but how well did Sanju play? Gautam Gambhir said long back that if Sanju Samson doesn’t play for India, it’s India’s loss. He was made to open. The silken touch was seen. He wasn’t hitting the ball hard; it seemed like he didn’t want to hurt the ball, and he was hitting one four after another.”
The 29-year-old Samson’s performance in the remaining matches of the series will be crucial for his future with the Indian T20I team.