Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Former India all-rounder R Ashwin has warned Team India against making quick changes in the playing XI, especially when it comes to Sanju Samson. His comments came during the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, where Samson has failed in two matches in a row. Even then, Ashwin believes India should stay patient and not panic.Sanju Samson recently returned to his opening role after spending nearly three months out of the position. He also missed around 15 T20Is as Shubman Gill was preferred at the top.
However, Samson was brought back as an opener in the last T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad. He played a solid knock there, and soon after, the selectors dropped Gill from the T20 World Cup squad. Samson was then backed as the first-choice wicketkeeper-opener alongside Abhishek Sharma. Now, the situation has changed again because Ishan Kishan scored a strong 76 in Raipur. That innings has increased pressure on Samson. Things could get tougher once Tilak Varma returns from injury. Only one wicketkeeper will be picked in the XI, and the fight will be between Samson and Kishan.Still, Ashwin feels it is too early to think about dropping Samson. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said, “It’s way too early to think of dropping him. If India keep doing such circus acts by playing Sanju when he did well before, and now Kishan because he’s playing well now, I don’t have to tell how it’ll end for India. It’s not ideal inside the dressing room. There is a lot of competition for places, but it’s too early for this change.”Ashwin also said Samson should not be judged harshly for getting out while playing attacking shots. He explained, “It’ll be very unfair. This opening combination has been reverted only for the last two games. A player has got out playing an attacking shot. If you penalize him for that and bench him, how will you witness the best of that player?”He further defended Samson’s intent and said, “It wasn’t that there was a rush of blood or that he wasn’t calm. He just saw the ball and went for it ( 2nd T20I dismissal). That’s how you should instinctively bat, but it just didn’t go his way.”
