Sanju Samson’s saga with the Indian cricket team has been the talk of the town for quite a while now, and the sparks were fanned again after he played a blistering inning in the IND vs SA 5th T20I at Ahmedabad.
Ravi Shastri, who is a commentator now and was the coach of India, has indirectly criticized Gautam Gambhir and the team management for leaving Sanju Samson out even though he is very talented.
Ravi Shastri voicing support for Samson on air
While Sanju Samson was playing a gorgeous lofted drive to send a delivery from Marco Jansen over the covers, during a commentary stint for the fifth match between India and South Africa, Ravi Shastri made the jibe on air. Shastri was excited about the shot.
“When you see him batting like this, sometimes you think why he is not in the side in the first place? Why should it be an injury that brings him in. He is just a natural for that position in the top of the order. Because of shots like these, he is explosive and dangerous,” Shastri said on air, referring to the management’s constant endeavor to make Shubman Gill an all-format player.
How has Sanju Samson performed as an opener?
Indeed, Sanju Samson is that dangerous in the T20I setup. He opened with Abhishek Sharma in the match, and according to the stats, ‘opener Sanju’ has a strike rate of 178.03 at an average of 32.88 from 18 T20I matches.
On the other hand, Shubman Gill has played 36 T20I matches with a batting average of 28.03 and a strike rate of 138.60.
Getting out in 10th over by George Linde, Samson made 63 runs with Abhishek and later added 34 runs with Tilak Varma.
Samson’s scorching innings helped India go past the century mark in just 10 overs as the hosts set a gigantic 231 for South Africa to chase. The challengers succumbed to the pressure of Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah, losing the match and series by 30 runs.
Comments are closed.