On Tuesday July 30th, the third and last T20I between India and Sri Lanka was held in Pallekele where again Sanju Samson could not make an impression with his batting skills. The right-handed batsman went out for just four balls without scoring any runs after being caught by Wanindu Hasaranga at deep point off Chamindu Wickramasinghe.
In a second T20 match, the wicketkeeper-batter left without scoring any runs. Therefore, he failed to show up in both matches against Sri Lanka, and it raised questions about his involvement in India’s subsequent games. He has already missed out on the three ODIs that are set to take place in this island nation on August 2nd, when they start from Colombo.
According to fans on X (formerly Twitter), it is believed that after his poor outings in Sri Lanka, Sanju Samson might just as well never play for the team again. Fans reacted:
Huge improvement from Sanju Samson after getting out on Golden Duck in last match,
Today he played 3 more balls and then gone for Duck🥵🔥 pic.twitter.com/37XruOSkMN
— TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) July 30, 2024
Life of Sanju Samson pic.twitter.com/UNk96tqueL
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) July 30, 2024
Back To Back Ducks By Sanju Samson 🦆🦆#INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/benObvbY2q
— Ankit (@revengeseeker07) July 30, 2024
If wasting opportunity was an Olympic sport…
Sanju Samson : pic.twitter.com/Xv0WmmVeVL
— UmdarTamker (@UmdarTamker) July 30, 2024
Sanju Samson – The guy who never utilised his talent 🥲👍 pic.twitter.com/4rDZjeoVJL
— Nitish Yadav (@nitishyadav1801) July 30, 2024
India 🇮🇳 in Trouble with Jaiswal Sanju and Rinku Singh getting out
❌ Gautam Gambhir watching Sanju Samson scoring back to back 0 pic.twitter.com/FCUeAgYzkt— ICT Fan (@Delphy06) July 30, 2024
Sanju Samson – The guy who never utilised his talent 🥲👍#India
pic.twitter.com/LSxcc2q7Yz pic.twitter.com/n7fWXOSdHH
— चौधरी जी नागौर (@Jat_Jamidar91) July 30, 2024
Sanju Samson – The guy who never utilised his talent 🥲👍 pic.twitter.com/hgYKaKLYgw
— Chinmay Shah (@chinmayshah28) July 30, 2024
Shame on BCCI for not giving any chance to Sanju Samson 🤡
Pant,KL etc. are eating his place pic.twitter.com/CvxbJiCpfN— Niya (@niyaaaa__R) July 30, 2024
“This is not the first time” –Robin Uthappa explains why Sanju Samson continues to come in and out of the Team India lineup
In a recent discussion, Robin Uthappa, former batter of India, indicated that Sanju Samson has not met the expectations that existed. Uthappa articulated that in the white-ball formats, Samson has not been able to provide consistently; hence he keeps getting dropped from Team India.
He emphasized that for him to make his position permanent in the national side, Samson needs to perform well during the few chances he is given. The cricketer-turned-commentator said this recently to Sony Sports Network (through FirstPost):
“From Sanju’s perspective, this is not the first time he has gone through it? I don’t think it will be the last time he will go through it as a player.”
“When the opportunities do come, he will have to grab those opportunities to make sure he steps up with solid performances that keep him in the running,” he added.
The previous cricketer Saba Karim also indicated that Samson has only performed well in a limited number of innings. He said this on Sony Sports Network during the Zimbabwe series (via India Today):
“He has done well in patches.”
In October, India will continue playing a subsequent 3-match T20I series in Bangladesh.
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