"I really feel sad" - Wasim Jaffer on Sanju Samson not grabbing his chances in India vs Sri Lanka series

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has said he feels "really sad" to see Sanju Samson not taking his opportunities in the three-match home T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Deployed as a replacement for Rishabh Pant, Samson got to bat only in the final two T20Is. He scored 39 off 25 balls batting at No. 4 in the second match and followed it up with 18 of 12 while opening the batting in the third encounter.

It was a familiar story for the Kerala batter, who looked good after getting his eye in in both games but failed to convert the start into half-centuries or match-winning knocks.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo after the series, which India won 3-0, Wasim Jaffer said Samson had a good chance to seal his spot as a reserve wicketkeeper and batter. He remarked that the Rajasthan Royals captain has a "lot to offer" in T20s but is simply failing to grab the opportunities given to him.

Jaffer said:

"He obviously hasn't grabbed his opportunities. Yesterday (Saturday) and today (Sunday)'s game was a good, good opportunity for him to stake his claim as a third wicketkeeping option or as a batter."

He added:

"He shows a lot of promise, he does show the glimpse of what he can do but just doesn't take the opportunity that other guys have taken. So I really feel sad because I think he's got a lot to offer in this format especially."

The former cricketer, however, also sounded a confident note to say the team management will keep Samson "around" for a while longer. Wasim Jaffer said:

"But I think he's definitely in the scheme of things. I don't think this Indian team setup will mind that he's got 30s but they would definitely see that he's around for sure."

Samson is in direct competition with the likes of Pant, Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer for a spot in the playing XI.

While Pant scored 52 (28) in the last T20I he played, Yadav was the top run-scorer in both the T20I and ODI series against West Indies. Iyer also scored three consecutive unbeaten fifties against Sri Lanka to win the Player of the Series award.

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"They don't want to take that defensive approach" - Wasim Jaffer on India's new playing style

Wasim Jaffer also opined on India's new T20I template where the top-order and middle-order seem like a well-oiled engine with clear aggressive roles. He pointed to skipper Rohit Sharma's evolved batting style to explain that the changes against a defensive approach have been visible since the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Jaffer said:

"That was very visible after the T20 World Cup, that they don't want to take that defensive approach. I mean, that's what we've seen with Rohit Sharma's batting as well. Generally, you'd see Rohit Sharma coming in and taking his time when the other guys KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan, they'll take charge."

He added that giving players more freedom will keep paying dividends.

"But now he's taken that onus on himself and it's very unlike him. So it might not come off very often but I like the approach, I like the template they've set and I think it's going to give dividends. They've given the freedom to players which is very good to see and it's in a very good state."

India and Sri Lanka will now clash in a two-Test series beginning on February 4.