After being excluded from India’s T20 World Cup contingent, Sanju Samson has stated that he’s gotten more flexible in terms of being able to bat in different positions, and that he’s improving on that front.
Samson’s omission from India’s 15-man T20 World Cup squad was a no surprise; he was not selected in the Asia Cup squad as well. But, many have exclaimed surprise that Samson wasn’t even in the reserve players while Shreyas Iyer, who has weaknesses against short balls, found a place among the standbys.
India squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2022:
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Reserves: Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.
Sanju Samson was in good form throughout this year – average of 30, strike rate of 148 across T20s in 2022. Samson did well in his chances for India in T20Is and ODIs this year, but missed the cut.
In 5 T20I innings for India this year, Samson scored 179 runs at a strike rate of 158. He opened twice, batted twice at number 4 and once at number 5. For this IPL team, Rajasthan Royals, as well Samson showed flexibility by changing positions according to the team requirement and situation.
He said he doesn’t believe in having a fixed spot in the line-up, and reckoned being versatile in handling different roles is imperative.
“Playing different roles is something I have worked on for a lot of years. I am confident of batting anywhere in the order,” Samson told PTI.
“You should not fix a spot for yourself. You cannot tell people: ‘I am an opener or I am a finisher.’In the last three-four years, playing in various roles and spots (in the order) has added a new dimension to my game. I am happy with the way I am performing. I want to improve,” he added.
Omitted from the senior Indian team for next month’s T20 World Cup in Australia, the 27-year-old Kerala batsman asserted that it’s extremely difficult to get a place in India’s best eleven or squad, but he’s keeping his focus on his game.
“It really does get challenging. Finding a place in the Indian team is really challenging. There is a lot of competition around, even within players who are in the team now. When these things happen, it is important to focus on myself,” Samson added.
Samson is currently leading the India ‘A’ side against New Zealand ‘A’ in a three-match one-day series in Chennai.
