Sanju Samson to be included in the playing 11 in the second T20I against Ireland?
The first T20 match between India and Ireland had many talking points. Whether it was the marvellous performance of the Irish batsman Harry Tector or Hardik Pandya getting a wicket in his very first over as the Indian captain, Twitter was abuzz with memorable moments from the game.
But one other thing that was trending on social media was the exclusion of the star batsman Sanju Samson from India’s playing eleven. The fans were angry with the team management for not giving the Rajasthan franchise captain an opportunity in the absence of the senior players.
The wicketkeeper-batter had a prolific run in the recently concluded Indian T20 league 2022 as he scored 458 runs in 17 games with a strike rate of 135.72 and an average of 29.14.
Former Indian bowler Ashish Nehra had also opined on including Samson and Rahul Tripathi in the eleven during the pre-match show.
“No, it’s not a tough call at all. Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi have come in place of Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Deepak Hooda was already in the squad. Even Venkatesh Iyer didn’t play a match against South Africa. And the kind of performance Deepak Hooda put in the Indian T20 league and in the Ranji Trophy, the whole season he scored runs, then in the IPL also. He certainly deserved a chance,” Nehra said.
Samson, meanwhile, has not been able to replicate his magnificent numbers in the Indian T20 league in international cricket. The Kerala-based Batter has played 13 T20 internationals scoring 174 runs at an average of 14.50 and a strike rate of 121.67. He has failed to impress in the limited opportunities he has got.
With Rishabh Pant not being able to give impressive performances in T20 internationals after having played 48 matches, the management could well look to finally give Samson a ‘much-deserved’ run in International cricket’s shortest format as the 27-year-old batsman has age on his side and could start performing if given some backing.
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