Sanju Samson Will Regret This; He Let A Great Opportunity Slip: Aakash Chopra

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson squandered a golden opportunity to showcase his credentials during the tour of Sri Lanka.

Sanju Samson started off the Sri Lankan tour on a promising note by scoring a brilliant 46 on his ODI debut in the third game of the series.

However, his performance in the T20I series that followed was appalling, to say the least as he struggled big-time against the likes of Hasaranga and Akila Dananjaya.

In three matches, Samson registered scores of 27,7 and 0.

Samson has now played 10 T20Is in which he has managed a mere 117 runs at an average of 11.7 and a strike rate of 110.37. He is yet to cross the 30-run-mark in Indian colors.

“We always say about Sanju Samson that he is a very talented player, looks very attractive while batting and so on. Okay, he was batting out of position. But in Thursday’s match, he came in to bat in the fifth over. He should have scored runs. Wanindu Hasaranga came in and foxed him. Samson played four consecutive matches. The other youngsters were in and out of the playing XI but Samson got a longer run without a gap. He played the last ODI and all three T20Is. He scored 46 on his ODI debut but he could not come up with a good score in any of the T20Is. Sanju Samson will regret this, he let a great opportunity slip.” said Aakash Chopra on his Youtube channel.

‘We need to be patient’- Rahul Dravid urges fans to be patient with Sanju Samson and other youngsters

Meanwhile, head coach Rahul Dravid defended Sanju Samson’s struggles in India, stating that the batting conditions weren’t the easiest in the T20I series.

Dravid further urged fans and media to be patient with Samson and other youngsters, asserting that all of them are talented cricketers.

”I think to be honest it is not the easiest condition to bat in. Obviously, he got a chance in the one-day game and got a very good start of 46 runs, but in the T20s he probably batted well in the first one, however the last one couple of wickets have been a bit challenging,” said Rahul Dravid at the post-match conference.

”I guess when we look back on the series we would be a little disappointed. But having said that, I think it is not only Sanju, a lot of these young guys are talented kids and terrific players, and we need to be patient,” he said.

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