Sanju Samson's place has come under doubt
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Sanju Samson's place has come under doubt
- Samson has made 39 runs in two matches
- India are expected to make changes in the playing XI
Sanju Samson's spot in the Indian playing XI has come under major scrutiny after he made scores of just 29 and 10 in the first two games of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. With Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant rested, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) star got a golden chance to start the series not just as the Men in Blue's first-choice wicket-keeper batter but also open the innings.
However, the 29-year-old has wasted the chance to cement his place in the squad with just 39 runs in two games. This follows a horror tour of Sri Lanka in which he played 2 T20Is and scored ducks in both. As Samson continues to struggle in international cricket, his spot in the team has come under major doubt ahead of the third T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday (October 12).
Will Sanju Samson Be Dropped?
India assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate revealed that the team's plan was to try new faces in the third game after winning the series which includes players like Tilak Verma and Jitesh Sharma. As the backup wicket-keeper in the team, Jitesh could take Samson's place in the XI. However, the former Netherlands all-rounder revealed the team are keen to give Samson another chance which hints that he will maintain his place in the side. Ryan also hinted at a debut for pace Harshit Rana.
"Obviously Tilak came into the squad a bit later, Jitesh is there as well, but we want to give Sanju another chance, so there are options. We are trying to expose as many guys as we can to international experience with what we have got coming up. So someone like Harshit Rana we are keen to give a game to. And certainly the plan originally was to win the series and then try a few new faces for the last game," said Ryan in a pre-match press conference.
Ryan defended the extended run to Samson and praised him for the intent he showed while always looking for boundaries.
"If you look back at the first two games, someone like Sanju got a quick start in the first game in Gwalior, it would have been easy for him to knock it around and just get a 50-60 not out. But you can see he is trying to push the boundary. He knows the state of the game and the messaging has been pretty consistent with that.
"We are trying to push the limits of what we can do as a team. We have obviously got the quality to do it. And then it is about giving the players the belief to do it in a safe space to know that if it is not going to go right, it is also okay," Ryan explained.
"We want guys to expand their own games. We want to move cricket forward like it is going with the times. And we want to be prepared for the big crunch moments that are coming up in the next 18 months.
"It is just giving them the freedom to know that they can go out there and do it without backing. And they are certainly good enough to do it. So it is just a matter of looking to score and looking to hit every single ball in the 120 balls," Ryan added.
Samson made his T20I debut for India nine years ago but has failed to seal a place in the XI and found himself in and out of the team. His record in the shortest format is underwhelming, to say the least with just 483 runs in 32 matches at an average of 19.32 with just two half-centuries.
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