Back in 2020, India beat Australia in the three-match T20I series 2-1. In the series opener, the Men in Blue used the concussion substitute tactic to full use and managed to beat the hosts by effectively deploying Yuzvendra Chahal in place of Ravindra Jadeja who was hit on the helmet by a Mitchell Starc bouncer earlier. Chahal went onto pick three and India went onto win the match.
Although this street-smart strategy infuriated the whole Aussie camp, it did not came from the team management led by Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri, but none other than Sanju Samson, revealed former fielding coach R Sridhar.
Also Read: ‘I Like Livingstone’s Batting’: Shafali Verma Lauds Englishman, Calls Sachin Tendulkar ‘Role Model’
In his book, ‘Coaching Beyond – My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’ Sridhar narrated the story, heaping praise on Samson. He also said that he saw shades of a captain.
This was the first match of the series which was being played in the Manuka Oval in Canberra where India had batted first and riding on Jadeja’s 44* off 23 balls, managed to post a respectable 161/7 on the board. Nevertheless, one Mitchell Starc bouncer had hit Jadeja right on his helmet. There was no concussion test that was carried out for Jadeja, but the management didn’t know if Jaddu can turn up during Australia’s chase. Moreover, he was also struggling with a hamstring injury.
As the management braced themselves for being a bowler short, Samson came up with an effective plan which involved using Yuzi Chahal as concussion substitute for Jadeja. It proved effective as Chahal ended up picking three wickets for 25 runs, helping India win the match by 11 runs.
“I was in the dugout, ready to set up fielding stations immediately at the end of the innings before Australia could begin their chase. Seated by my side were Sanju Samson and Mayank Agarwal. Suddenly, Sanju piped up, ‘Sir, the ball hit Jaddu’s helmet, didn’t it? Why can’t we seek a concussion replacement? We can get another bowler in instead of Jaddu’,” Sridhar writes in his book.
Although ICC has approved it, then Australia coach Justin Langer and Aaron Finch had complained to the match referee.
“That is where I saw a captain in that youngster,” he wrote. “I urged him to dash across to Ravi and convey his sentiments, and Ravi, too, saw merit in Sanju’s thinking,” Sridhar admitted.
“Sanju’s quick thinking that led to Chahal’s induction is an incident that will stay with me for life. That’s where you saw a captain in Sanju, you saw a leader who was thinking about the game. He was not thinking about how he got out, he was thinking for the team. These are the moments that reveal one’s character.”
Also Read | IND vs NZ 2023: Shreyas Iyer Ruled Out of ODI Series Due to Back Injury
“This was a classic case of reverse learning. Neither Ravi nor Virat thought of this scenario; Sanju summed things up in a jiffy and wasn’t afraid to communicate his thoughts. That’s a big tick as far as I am concerned,” Sridhar added.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here
Comments
0 comment