Underperforming Sanju Samson to be dropped for 3rd IND vs BAN T20I? India coach reveals

Sanju Samson has been under pressure once again after failing to score big in the first two games of the ongoing three-match T20I series between India and Bangladesh.

The new Indian team management has made it clear that it would not shy away from giving the wicketkeeper-batsman an extended run in the team. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman has not really managed to justify the decision so far.

He played in two of the three T20Is that India played against Sri Lanka in July. In both the matches, Sanju Samson was out for a duck. Even after those twin failures, he was not only selected in the squad for the ongoing series but was given a chance in the playing eleven for the first two games as well.

However, the Kerala star has not managed to make the chances count. In both games, he showed positive intent but failed to score big. In the series opener, Sanju Samson was out for 29 runs while the team was chasing 128 runs. In the second game, he hit two boundaries in the very first over but departed in the very second over after scoring 10 runs.

Sanju Samson to be dropped?

With Sanju Samson failing in four games in a row, there have been calls from several quarters to drop him from the team and give a chance to other players such as Jitesh Sharma. However, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has hinted that the under-pressure batsman is likely to play the third T20I as well.

Speaking in the pre-match press conference, ten Doeschate said that even though Sanju Samson has not scored big, his intent has been spot on. He said that Samson could have opted for the easier option of taking his time and scoring a fifty in the first T20I but he opted for the aggressive approach.

"100%, I think it’s showing in the way played (the aggressive all-out nature). You know, the Test match in Kanpur is a great example. We’re trying to push the limits of of what we can do as a team," ten Doeschate said.

"They’ve obviously got the quality to do it. Then it’s about giving the players the belief to do it in the safe space to know that if it’s not going to go right, it’s also okay.”

"Even if you look back at the first two games, someone like Sanju, you know, getting a quick start in the first game in Gwalior. It would have been easy for him to knock it around and just get a fifty. But you can see he’s trying to push for the boundary. He knows the state of the game and the messaging has been pretty consistent with that.”

"We want guys to expand their own games. We want to move cricket forward like it’s going with the times and we want to be prepared for the big crunch moments that are coming up in the next 18 months," he added.

Meanwhile, the third India vs Bangladesh T20I is scheduled to be played on Saturday (October 12). India have already sealed the series by winning the first two games and will be looking to win the third game as well.