With a logjam of players waiting for a place in the squad, and then the XI, India’s high-flying T20 side doesn’t give you the luxury of taking your place for granted, as Shubman Gill found out when the World Cup squad was announced. Sanju Samson is the latest in the firing line, after a third consecutive failure in the ongoing series against New Zealand. Has he gone off the boil at just the wrong time, and what will the think tank do? Is it conceivable that he could miss out on playing in front of his home crowd in Thiruvananthapuram later this month?
Around 11 years ago, Samson made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe. Since then, the wicketkeeper-batter has featured in 55 T20Is, averaging just over 24. On the positive side, his strike-rate stands at a creditable 147.60. On paper, however, these are not exactly the numbers of a top-tier T20I batter.
There are two ways to look at these figures. One is that he has been in and out of the side over a long period. On the other hand, he has played 28 of those 55 matches in the middle order. Even if one considers only his top-order numbers, after scoring centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa, he has struggled against the pace attacks of England and New Zealand, averaging 11.55 across his nine home matches.
In those nine dismissals, Jofra Archer and Matt Henry have accounted for five. One of the pacers is known for using the short ball to great effect, while the other has become a renowned practitioner of wobble-seam bowling. Does this indicate that Samson has issues against high-quality pace bowling, particularly when facing the new ball? The answer could well be “yes”.
That said, a small caveat must be added: he did not get to play those nine matches in a continuous run. With Gill taking over the mantle at the top of the order, Samson was asked to move into a middle-order role. Subsequently, he was also left out of the side.
The bigger picture is that competition for top-order spots is fierce. With Tilak Varma expected to return to the Indian set-up ahead of the T20 World Cup, and Ishan Kishan showcasing his pyrotechnics in the second T20I against New Zealand, Samson will be feeling the pressure. One must also remember that Yashasvi Jaiswal is waiting in the wings, while a new kid on the block, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, has earned a reputation for his power-hitting.
Logically, it does not make much sense for the Indian think-tank to keep chopping and changing. India’s top-order merry-go-round was exemplified by Gill’s recent omission from the T20I set-up, which allowed Samson to regain his place as an opener. The sensible approach would be to give Samson a few more games before deciding his fate. Critics, however, will rightly point out that he has not made the most of his opportunities so far.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news
