IND vs SL 2021: “Sanju Samson will regret this, he let a great opportunity slip” - Aakash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson missed a great opportunity to prove his credentials at the international level in the Sri Lanka series.

26-year-old Samson scored an impressive 46 on his ODI debut but had poor returns of 27, 7 and 0 in the three-match T20I series. His showing behind the stumps wasn’t all that great either.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra admitted that Samson had enough chances to prove his detractors wrong but let the opportunity slip. He stated about the Kerala cricketer:

“We always say about Sanju Samson that he is a very talented player, looks very attractive while batting and so on. Okay, he was batting out of position. But in Thursday’s match, he came in to bat in the fifth over. He should have scored runs. Wanindu Hasaranga came in and foxed him. Samson played four consecutive matches. The other youngsters were in and out of the playing XI but Samson got a longer run without a gap. He played the last ODI and all three T20Is. He scored 46 on his ODI debut but he could not come up with a good score in any of the T20Is. Sanju Samson will regret this, he let a great opportunity slip.”

Samson has played 10 matches in his T20I career so far but has only managed 117 runs at an average of 11.70 and a strike rate of 110.37. He has a highest T20I score of 27, which was registered in the first match of the series against Sri Lanka.

IPL is the only option left for Sanju Samson to prove himself otherwise I can't see his comeback in the Indian team.

— Rishabh✨ (@continuum_0) July 30, 2021

Need to be patient with Sanju Samson and other young guys: Rahul Dravid

Team India’s coach for the Sri Lanka series, Rahul Dravid, admitted that the side would be disappointed with the way they performed in the T20I series. He, however, urged people to be patient with Samson and other youngsters, asserting that they are terrific players.

Asked for his views on Samson’s failure in the series, Dravid said at a post-match conference:

"I think to be honest it is not the easiest condition to bat in. Obviously, he got a chance in the one-day game and got a very good start of 46 runs, but in the T20s he probably batted well in the first one, however the last one couple of wickets have been a bit challenging.

“I guess when we look back on the series we would be a little disappointed. But having said that, I think it is not only Sanju, a lot of these young guys are talented kids and terrific players, and we need to be patient."

Interesting Fact - Sanju Samson's Highest score in IPL is 2 runs more than the total runs he has scored in 10 T20I innings.#cricket #INDvsSL2021 #INDvsSL #TeamIndia #SLvsIND #INDvSL #IndianCricketTeam

— Hemaram Saran (@saran_hemaram) July 30, 2021

Samson will get another chance to stake a claim for a place in the T20 World Cup during the second half of the IPL in which he will be leading Rajasthan Royals.