Team India should turn to Rishabh Pant if Sanju Samson’s fate is sealed, ‘Samson got a…’

In the first T20I between India and South Africa in Cuttack, Sanju Samson was left out for the fourth match in a row, as India continued with Jitesh Sharma.

New Delhi: For the fourth time in India’s last six T20Is since the Asia Cup in September, Sanju Samson has been dropped, and Jitesh Sharma has been picked in his place in the playing XI. Although Samson is primarily an opener and has performed well in that role since the end of the last T20 World Cup he was shifted to the middle order after the BCCI introduced their ‘Shubman Gill plan‘ during the Asia Cup. After just five innings in this new position, Samson was left out as India chose to go with Jitesh, a specialist finisher who can also keep wickets.

Samson was dropped from the playing XI for the fourth match in row

On Tuesday in the first T20I between India and South Africa, Samson was not picked in the playing XI for the fourth consecutive match, with Jitesh retained for the series opener against South Africa in Cuttack. 1. The decision drew both sympathy and blunt criticism from former cricketers.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, former Kolkata Knight Riders team director Joy Bhattacharjya said there was no real reason to keep Samson in the T20I squad if Gill had already been finalised as India’s T20 World Cup opener next February. He pointed out that shifting a proven opener, one who has smashed three centuries in that position in the past year to the middle order wasn‘t logical when the selectors could simply pick experienced wicketkeeper-finisher like Rishabh Pant.

Team India should back Rishabh Pant instead of Jitesh Sharma

“If you’re not going to bat Sanju up the order, then keeping him really doesn’t make sense. You might as well keep Rishabh Pant, who is used to batting at 4, 5, 6, because Sanju Samson has proven himself, he’s scored three centuries at the top and done really well for you there. If you’ve fixed that spot and Shubman has taken it, then your keeper has to be a finisher, which is Jitesh. I think India has gone with that and decided this is the process. In that case, I would bring in a second finisher-keeper as backup, because it makes more sense to go down that road rather than have Sanju batting out of position. There’s no point,” he said.

Since 2023, Samson has registered the second-highest strike rate (182.89) among all active Indian openers, trailing only Abhishek Sharma (196.55). Over the past two years, he has scored 417 runs in 13 innings, with includes three centuries.

Shaun Pollock called Samson unlucky

South Africa’s star all-rounder Shaun Pollock, who was on the same panel, said Samson was unlucky, particularly after the BCCI moved Gill into the ‘Virat Kohli–Rohit Sharma‘ category a level of trust he strengthened with his Test performances in England.

“Yes, Sanju got a raw deal. But, you know, those opportunities are often created by people being injured or being rested, whatever it may be, and players step up and perform. I suppose you kind of need to look at Shubman Gill from a different perspective now. I think he is almost being elevated to the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. And when they came back into teams, where did they go? They went back into their position. It wasn’t a case of shifting them down,” Pollock said.

“I think what he’s shown, even in that Test series in England, is that he’s the number one, isn’t he, batting-wise? So I get the fact that he was the man in possession, and with the stature that he has, it‘s a rough one on Sanju because he’s played so well and he hasn’t disappointed when he’s been given the chance. It’s just team dynamics. When Shubman comes back, and I’m glad he‘s recovered from his neck injury, I think he’s the best player, so he goes to the top. And you also look at the partnership he’s formed with Abhishek over the years. They know each other’s game really well and bounce off each other nicely.“