- Sanju Samson faces scrutiny after recent low scores.
- Cheteshwar Pujara urges continued backing for Samson’s quality.
- Pujara advises against quick changes, stressing player support.
Sanju Samson has found himself under the spotlight after another quiet outing, but India Test veteran Cheteshwar Pujara believes the wicketkeeper-batsman deserves continued backing rather than immediate scrutiny. India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series against the West Indies after an eight-wicket victory in Lucknow. Samson contributed just 11 runs, adding to a difficult run that saw him register scores of 9, 7 and 2 during India’s recent Asian Games campaign.
With the second T20I scheduled in Ranchi, questions around Samson’s place in the side are likely to continue.
Pujara Wants Samson To Play Without Pressure
Pujara has urged the team management to avoid reacting too quickly to a handful of low scores.
Speaking to JioHotstar, he highlighted Samson’s previous achievements and insisted that his position in the playing XI should not be questioned after a few failures.
“I hope that there is no pressure on him, because there shouldn’t be. He has won a World Cup for the Indian team and performed exceptionally well there. He’s a quality player. So there shouldn’t be any questions around him being part of the playing XI,”
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Pujara believes difficult patches are inevitable in T20 cricket, making the support of coaches and selectors particularly important when a player struggles for runs.
“Yes, you might have one or two bad games, and then if he has that, that’s the time when the team management has to step in, to give him the right message that, ‘You are an important part of this team and will be part of this playing XI, so just go out there, express yourself, play your natural game,”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Can Wait, Says Pujara
The emergence of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gives India another exciting batting option, but Pujara does not believe his presence should force an immediate change.
“In a T20 format, there’ll be some failures in between. But that’s the time when you talk to a player, give him the right message. Yes, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is there, he will get his opportunity when the right time comes, but you don’t make too many changes.”
“If Sanju plays another two or three innings, I’m sure he will perform exceptionally well,” he added.
For now, Pujara’s message is clear, India should back Samson through this lean patch rather than make a knee-jerk change.
The Ranchi T20I could give the Kerala batsman another opportunity to respond with the bat and silence the growing questions around his form.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
