Sanju Samson’s T20I future in danger!! Ex-India star exposes Gautam Gambhir’s flawed tactics
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Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has claimed that Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav should set him as India's No. 3 batter and suggested that Sanju Samson should not be constantly moved up and down the batting order.
India started their T20I campaign in Australia with a humiliating loss in Melbourne after their first match in Canberra was washed out by rain. Samson had an unimpressive outing in the series despite being sent in early at no. 3.
Sanju Samson's form has taken a major dip ever since he was demoted from the opening position in the Indian team. Throughout the Asia Cup, he was sent in at No. 5 but scored a single half-century when he was sent first down.
Sanju Samson opines on Suryakumar Yadav's role in the Indian batting order
India managed to score just 125 runs in the second T20I against Australia at the MCG, which raised some serious concerns over the Indian coach's tactics on tracks other than the flat pitches of the subcontinent.
“As for Sanju Samson, if he keeps moving up and down the batting order like this, I’m not sure how effective that will be,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
Samson was once again in focus and was promoted up the order; however, he could not fire in the role. He will need to learn batting in the middle order if he wants to prolong his stay within the T20I team. Irfan Pathan suggested a fixed position should be handed to every player in the team.
“I know that in T20 cricket, apart from the openers, no one really has a fixed position, and flexibility is important. But in the name of flexibility, you shouldn’t become so elastic that you lose the stability that comes with having defined roles. That’s something the Indian team really needs to pay attention to,” warned Pathan.
Sanju Samson gets a stern warning to score runs for India
While Suryakumar Yadav has also failed to be promising for India ever since he took up captaincy for India, Irfan Pathan has now suggested that he set himself at No. 3, a position where he used to bat under Rohit Sharma's leadership.
Finally, Pathan issued a stern warning to Sanju Samson to score some runs in Australia since the support would not be extended for long, as he has failed to get promising performances under his belt.
“There’s no doubt he’s getting the support he needs. But that support can fade quickly if a player has three or four failures in a row. Hopefully, that won’t happen with Sanju Samson,” concluded the former all-rounder.
Irfan Pathan highlights the drawbacks of the shuffling order
Not only Samson, Suryakumar, or Tilak Varma, but also the Indian lower order have seen constant changes within the T20I setup. They are still in the experimental phase, as Harshit Rana was sent in ahead of Shivam Dube.
“When you keep changing a player’s role repeatedly, things naturally change. Playing against the older ball in the middle overs, which Sanju Samson did during the Asia Cup, is very different from opening the innings, where he had scored three centuries,” explained Pathan about the drawbacks of a changing batting order.
“It requires a different mindset and a lot of mental strength, along with strong backing from the team,” he concluded.
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India National Cricket Team Australia National Cricket Team India vs Australia Australia vs India Sanju Samson Gautam Gambhir Suryakumar Yadav Irfan Pathan
