Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has now come forward in defense of Sanju Samson. He has cited mounting pressure as the reason behind Sanju Samson’s poor performances and has rejected the standard set by former teammate Yuzvendra Chahal, who instead urged changes from the Indian management.
India lost against New Zealand on the second day after a collective failure of the batting order. After their three dominant wins in the first three T20I matches, New Zealand won the fourth match with an impressive 50-run victory.
Many players failed to perform in that innings; However, Sanju Samson has been criticized the most. Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh have no shortage of runs like Sanju Samson. Samson scored just 40 runs in 4 matches of the series at an average of 10 with a disappointing strike rate.
Ravichandran Ashwin cited extra pressure as the main reason behind his poor performance.
Sanju Samson seems to be struggling for form in the shortest format of the game. This is the only format he plays at international level, and the recent exchange of players has taken away the charm of his batting.
Despite recently returning to the Indian team in place of Shubman Gill, Samson is going through a very bad phase. Former Indian spinner and Sanju Samson’s another Rajasthan Royals teammate Ravichandran Ashwin has cited increasing pressure as one of the major reasons for Samson’s batting struggles.
Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “If you are not a good player, you cannot reach here. When your mind is filled with so many thoughts, it becomes difficult to choose lengths and lines. I am sure there are things going on in his mind.”
He also believes that a slot should not be taken away from the player; Ishan Kishan should be dropped if India consider Ishan Kishan for the opening slot along with Abhishek Sharma.
“We can’t make space for a player. It’s not about running with a player and relying on him. It’s also important to ask the player to take a break. Sometimes sitting out and reflecting can make you a better player. I don’t agree that he should go back to the middle order. You can’t make space for a player; then everyone else will also rotate around it,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin supports Sanju Samson to make a comeback with the bat
After acknowledging Samson’s concerns, Ravichandran Ashwin also pointed to the batsman’s weakness, which has become almost a routine for the bowlers against him.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, “They are bowling Sanju on middle and leg because he doesn’t have the back-and-across movement. It’s really getting to the point where it is pushing players. They have been pushed to a place where they have to show something more to the bowlers.”
Ravichandran Ashwin said he is trying to make things work as he is becoming uncomfortable with the plan that has been executed against him time and again. Ashwin also suggested that Sanju is trying to break the shackles but his efforts have not yielded results yet.
“It may take time, but he is at least thinking about how to put pressure on the bowlers. That’s a good sign. But he is walking a fine line, and with Ishan sitting in the dugout, there is pressure,” he concluded.
Will Sanju Samson get a chance to open in the final NZ T20I?
India is already leading the series 3-1 and the last match of the series could be Sanju Samson’s last chance to secure a place in the Indian T20 playing eleven for the ICC T20 World Cup. However, the big question is whether Samson will be given a chance to play in the upcoming games of the series.
If India plan to move on from Samson to Ishan Kishan, they will have to finalize a combination by playing Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan alongside each other. Both are careless strikers of the ball and may not be responsible when paired together up top.
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