Imagine you have insane amount of talent but nothing major to show that off. Sanju Samson, who enjoys a massive (quite literally) fandom, has often received sympathy for not getting enough chances in the Indian team. Whenever he is left out of any squad, fans have bashed BCCI for his non-inclusion.
Most recently, when Suryakumar Yadav-led side benched him in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, quite a number of fans raised their eyebrows as to why India played Rishabh Pant over their favourite Keralite. In his innings, Pant struggled until the culmination and voiced raise in favour of Samson.
Samson wastes another chance!
However, an air of delight ran through Samson fan’s when SKY named the only change for the second T20I as Shubman Gill made way for Samson because of his neck spasm. Samson had a great opportunity on his hands as he moved up as an opener alongside ever-cracking Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Rare chance! Wasted chance for Samson!
Due to persistent rain, India’s chase of 162 turned into 78 in eight overs. Jaiswal opened the innings by bagging 12 runs off Dasun Shanaka. Eyes tuned into Samson and he had a golden opportunity to stake his claim and prove why India can’t afford to miss him out. However, what followed was a nightmare for the 29-year-old.
A well executed carrom ball by Maheesh Theekshana spilt Samson in two halves as he simply couldn’t read it. No feet movement and it was chapter closed for Samson, who recorded his second T20I duck for the Men in Blue.
While cameos by Jaiswal (30 off 15) and Hardik Pandya (22* off 9) were enough to outclass the Lankans, another chance looks intricate for Samson. Despite making his international debut nine years ago, Samson has played just 28 T20Is and more than anyone, he would be kicking himself.
