Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has opened up about the curious case of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson and why he hasn’t been able to cement his place in the Indian team for the limited-overs format.
Sanju Samson’s Inconsistent Performances
While Samson has been around the national set-up for a while now, but he has consistently failed to cement his place in the Indian squad. This time Sanju Samson had a brilliant season in Indian Premier League 2022 as he led his side Rajasthan Royals to the finals, scoring 458 runs. However, he could only manage to convert two of his starts into half-centuries.
It has to be noted that Sanju Samson made his debut for the Indian side way back in 2015 but he has played one ODI and 13 T20Is for India. However, the 27-year-old now has a golden opportunity to make a strong claim for his spot as he has been called to represent Team India in the Hardik Pandya-led side that will take on Ireland.
Sunil Gavaskar Explained The Reason Behind It
Meanwhile, speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar explained the reason behind Samson’s inconsistent performances. Gavaskar feels that sometimes Sanju tries to over-attack and he ends up losing his wicket. He said:
“Everybody deserves more chance but you got to make the most of them. What has led Sanju Samson down, because all of us know the tremendous ability that he has, is his shot selection while playing for India.”
He added: “He looks to attack from the first ball and even in T20Is, there is an opportunity to get your feet going, get your eye … you know with the light and pitch, etc.”
Further, Gavaskar feels if Samson is able to give himself a little time initially and play better shots, he might be able to cement his place in the Indian squad. He said:
“So, yes if his shot selection gets better then he will be so much more consistent whether it is for India or for his franchise. Then there will be nobody asking questions about his place in the team.”
India’s T20I squad vs Ireland:
Hardik Pandya (Captain), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
