Former India captain and chairman of selectors has once again come down with a sharp criticism with how the Indian team has handed Sanju Samson a demotion in the batting order. Following Srikkanth’s comments on pacer Harshit Rana earlier this month on his YouTube channel, India head coach Gautam Gambhir had responded strongly asking to avoid any personal comments. This time, Srikkanth expressed his frustration over Gambhir’s decision to slot Samson in the middle-order.
Samson, who had forged an attacking partnership at the top with Abhishek Sharma, was forced to move to the middle-order after India handed a recall to Shubman Gill to the T20 side in the Asia Cup. Despite scoring three centuries at the top in the past one year, the 30-year-old is still adjusting to his new role in the middle-order as he was clearly seen short on rhythm at the Asia Cup in the UAE.
And Srikkanth has said Samson is the ‘most unlucky’ player as he has been made to bat at different positions. “The guy who’s most unlucky is Sanju Samson. He was scoring centuries as an opener. But now they send him everywhere — from No. 3 to No. 8. If given an opportunity, they may send him at No. 11 also! A person like Sanju will naturally feel bad after doing so well at the top, but he has no option but to be tight-lipped and bat wherever the team asks him to,” Srikkanth said in his YouTube channel.
In the Asia Cup which India won without losing a match, Samson batted at No 5 in three matches and didn’t get to bat in one match. Despite showing signs of struggle in the middle, there were questions whether Samson is suited to the middle-order and whether the team management will look at Jitesh Sharma as a potential replacement in Australia. However, factoring in the conditions in the UAE during the Asia Cup, where it wasn’t easy for middle-order batsmen to play with aggressive intent, Samson has remained the first-choice wicketkeeper Down Under.
“The only good thing is he did well at No. 5 in the Asia Cup. It’s a good sign because Sanju is now the automatic choice as the first wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup,” he said.
