Former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara backed the dashing opener, Sanju Samson, after the conclusion of the home series against the West Indies, stating that top-order batters being consistent in T20s is overrated.
Speaking to JioHotstar, Pujara believes that Samson has the ability to bounce back with one career-defining innings in the forthcoming New Zealand tour, which will commence on October 22. Notably, Samson scored 168 runs in five innings against West Indies, ending as the second-highest run-scorer for India, behind captain Shreyas Iyer.
“Consistency should be there, but for the top order, I think consistency is overrated in T20s,” Pujara said.
“He is never out of form. The kind of player Sanju Samson has been in the T20 format; his form fluctuates. But it is always a matter of one innings. He plays one good innings, and he is back in form. So, you cannot say that this player is not in form. In the T20 format, you are bound to have failures. Who doesn’t get out in T20s?” he added.
Further, Pujara predicted that it’s quite tough to have both Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the Indian T20I playing XI, adding that it could be a bit difficult for the teen batter to get all games on the New Zealand tour.
“Vaibhav playing every game seems a bit difficult in New Zealand because there you need more all-rounders, either a spin all-rounder or a seaming all-rounder. So, there you don’t need a lot of batters, especially in the top order,” he said.
“Either Sanju Samson can open or Vaibhav. I don’t think both can be part of the playing XI in New Zealand conditions. So, Vaibhav will have to wait, but he will get opportunities. If the spot opens up for him based on conditions or players’ fitness, that’s fine. But both Sanju and Vaibhav cannot be in the playing XI in New Zealand,” he concluded.
