Sanju Samson (Image: IANS)
Because he’s timing the ball well, “I’m sure he will learn this very quickly,.
Abhishek’s record against off-spinners hasn’t been great, though he’s improved that number significantly,” Pujara said. “And in a T20 format, there’ll be some failures in between. But that’s the time when you talk to a player, give him the right message. Yes, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is there, he will get his opportunity when the right time comes, but you don’t make too many changes. If Sanju plays another two or three innings, I’m sure he will perform exceptionally well,” he added. “Abhishek got off to a good start against seamers, but Shai Hope quickly realised that on that Lucknow pitch there was enough assistance for the spinners. The turnaround time between the games wasn’t ideal, so with one game, you don’t judge him too much. It was just one of those off days for him, but in the second T20I, he will be raring to go,” he concluded.
With India leading the five-match T20I series 1-0 after an eight-wicket win over the West Indies in Lucknow, Samson’s form has become one of the talking points ahead of the second T20I in Ranchi. He managed only 11 in the series opener, extending a string of low scores that also included 9, 7 and 2 during India’s recent Asian Games campaign. Because there shouldn’t be, “I hope that there is no pressure on him,.
He has won a World Cup for the Indian team and performed exceptionally well there.
So there shouldn’t be any questions around him being part of the playing XI,” Pujara told JioHotstar. “Yes, you might have one or two bad games, and then if he has that, that’s the time when the team management has to step in, to give him the right message that, ‘You are an important part of this team and will be part of this playing XI, so just go out there, express yourself, play your natural game,'” he said. Sanju Samson may be enduring a lean run, but former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara believes the wicketkeeper-batter deserves something more valuable than another chance, backing and security from the team management. He’s a quality player. The former India batter stressed that T20 cricket naturally comes with failures and that the team management’s role becomes even more important when a player goes through a difficult phase.