‘Lifetime subscription to pressure’: Sanju Samson’s fierce defense of former Indian cricketer

Sanju Samson of India (PTI Photo) Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned Sanju Samson’s continued omission from the ODI squad, pointing out that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has a strong record in the format but was not even considered for the last two matches of the series against New Zealand.Chopra noted that India have several wicketkeepers available, including KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Dhruva Jurela, none of whom have been selected for the upcoming matches. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan was named vice-captain, leaving Samson out of the squad.“Sanju has not been kept even now. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are not there. Ishan Kishan has been named vice-captain there but Sanju is not picked. Sanju’s ODI numbers are not that bad. He did well last time he played,” Chopra said.The former batsman believes the latest insult could indicate that the selectors have already made up their minds about Samson’s future in ODI cricket.“This time it looked like it would be appropriate to at least give him a chance, but you didn’t. You said you would keep Kumar Kushagra, which is fine. His home numbers are good, but why not Sanju Samson? It means you have decided on Sanju Samson from the point of view of ODI cricket,” observed Chopra.Samson scored 510 runs in 14 ODI innings at an average of 56.67. His last appearance in the format came against South Africa at Paarl in December 2023, when he hit 108 off 114 balls in India’s 78-run victory.

Chopra highlights Samson’s T20I numbers

Chopra also turned his attention to T20Is and compared the returns of Samson, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma during their last 20 innings. The numbers, he argued, belie the criticism leveled at Samson despite his consistent scoring.BatterRuns50s100sBattering AverageSanju Samson6577-34.57183.51Ishan Kishan6253-36.76152.06Abhishek Sharma5844129.20200.00″The truth is that Sanju Samson has got the most run pressure among them. Whenever there is a problem, it keeps happening to him, whether whether he scores or not he is blamed for not scoring how can he be the top run scorer in the last 20 matches when Ishan Kishan is number one in the ICC rankings and Abhishek is no.Chopra’s defense of Samson comes amid repeated questions about the batsman’s place in the Indian side. Samson was dropped during the British tour after just three wickets, despite being named player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup, at a time when the entire batting unit was struggling.Ahead of the Afghanistan T20I series, his place in the team again became the subject of debate on social media, with some of the discussion also focusing on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being left out. Samson responded by scoring half-centuries in the second and third matches of the three-match series.The scrutiny resurfaced after he was dismissed cheaply in the opening T20I against the West Indies. However, Samson replied with 82 in the second match and finished as India’s second highest run scorer in the series.He scored 168 runs at a strike of 193.35, scoring two half-centuries in the West Indies series. His performances added weight to Chopra’s argument that Samson’s numbers deserve more attention amid recurring questions about his place.