Sanju Samson made his T20 World Cup debut in India's game against Namibia on Thursday, February 12, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The wicketkeeper-batter replaced Abhishek Sharma, who is still recovering from a stomach bug, in the playing XI.
On expected lines, Samson opened the batting with Ishan Kishan. The former faced three consecutive dot balls in the first over before launching the fourth one for a massive six straight down the ground. In the following over, Samson hit back-to-back sixes,
square on the leg-side. The next ball went for a boundary over extra cover.
Samson had raced to 22 off seven balls and was looking in sublime touch. However, he clipped the last ball of the second over straight to Louren Steenkamp at deep mid-wicket.
Former India A captain Priyank Panchal expressed his disappointment with Samson, saying that it was important for the 31-year-old to put on a big score instead of playing a cameo, as it would have helped him avoid facing criticism subsequently.
"I know Sanju is someone who is exemplary in producing short-burst cameos, but against opponents like Namibia, it’s important you get your tally of runs up. This helps players insulate themselves from any unfounded criticism later on," Panchal said on his official 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle.
Samson opened in all five matches for India during the five T20Is they played against New Zealand right before the marquee event. However, he had a miserable outing with the bat, aggregating just 46 runs in five innings at a meagre average of 9.20. This abysmal performance cost him his spot in the playing XI as India opened with Abhishek and Ishan Kishan in their first T20 World Cup game against the USA.
Despite Samson's eye-catching cameo against Namibia, he would have to drop out of the playing XI once Abhishek recovers from his illness.
