The transition phase of Indian T20I team begins with the New Zealand tour starting today when a three-match series gets underway under the captaincy of allrounder Hardik Pandya. The squad is brimming with young talent with several seniors including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin among others rested for the entire tour.
Among the 16-member squad in wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson who will be targeting consistency and cement his place in the set-up. Samson made his T20I debut way back in 2015 but has only managed to play in 16 matches so far.
Besides inconsistency, one of the prime reasons was the presence of the legendary MS Dhoni and the emergence of Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper-batter’s slot.
With Indian team’s yet another underwhelming show from the T20 World Cup, the focus is now on the young players and those on the fringes to build a solid pool for the next showpiece event.
However, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that Samson was ready to be part of India’s set-up and still wasn’t picked for the T20 World Cup in Australia where the team exited in the semifinal.
“Speaking of the future, I think one player was ready, but was still not picked for the World Cup. Sanju Samson was ready for the No.5 position. He has been playing IPL for many years and has been leading Rajasthan Royals (RR) as well. He guided them to the final too this year,” Kaif told Sportskeeda.
Samson has scored 296 runs in 15 innings at a strike-rate of 135.15 including one half-century.
“Samson played match-winning knocks in West Indies. When 2-3 wickets fall, he comes in and attacks. He has the ability to take on spinners and hit them for fours and sixes. He was ready but was not picked for the World Cup. That was a mistake,” he added.
India will play New Zealand in three T20Is starting Friday followed by as many ODIs.
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