Former India captain and chairman of selectors has once again come down with a sharp criticism with how the Indian team has handed Sanju Samson a demotion in the batting order. Following Srikkanth’s comments on pacer Harshit Rana earlier this month on his YouTube channel, India head coach Gautam Gambhir had responded strongly asking to avoid any personal comments. This time, Srikkanth expressed his frustration over Gambhir’s decision to slot Samson in the middle-order.
Samson, who had forged an attacking partnership at the top with Abhishek Sharma, was forced to move to the middle-order after India handed a recall to Shubman Gill to the T20 side in the Asia Cup. Despite scoring three centuries at the top in the past one year, the 30-year-old is still adjusting to his new role in the middle-order as he was clearly seen short on rhythm at the Asia Cup in the UAE.
“The guy who’s most unlucky is Sanju Samson. He was scoring centuries as an opener. But now they send him everywhere from 3 to 8,” Srikkanth said. “If given an opportunity, they may send him at 11 also. So a person like Sanju will definitely feel bad, having done so well at the top. But he has no option but to stay quiet and bat wherever the team asks him to.”
Srikkanth, however, added that there are some positives for Samson despite the uncertainty surrounding his batting role.
“The only good thing is he did well at No. 5 in the Asia Cup. It’s a good sign for him because now Sanju is the automatic choice as the first wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup. He is sure to bat at No. 5,” he noted, suggesting that Samson remains an integral part of India’s plans despite the experimentation.
