Sanju Needed a Break After NZ Series To Release Pressure: Gambhir
Kolkata: Sanju Samson is a man of undeniable talent, but his miserable run in the bilateral series against New Zealand forced the team management to give him a break to ease the mounting pressure ahead of the T20 World Cup, head coach Gautam Gambhir said after the Kerala player’s epic knock sent the hosts into the semi-finals.
Samson played an unbeaten knock of 97 runs under pressure, backing up a tough 196-run chase against the West Indies on Sunday night.
“Obviously, he had a tough series against New Zealand. So sometimes it is important to give him (Samson) a break as well because you want to get him out of that pressure situation too,” head coach Gambhir said at the post-match press conference in response to a question from PTI.
Samson, who lost qualifying in the Asia Cup which disrupted his rhythm, secured a complete series against New Zealand but his poor run of scores (10, 6.0, 24, 6) led critics to write his epitaph.
Samson did not start in India’s tournament opener against the USA but Abhishek Sharma’s medical condition brought him back for the Namibia match and he was dropped again. A tragedy with Rinku Singh (death of his father) and an effort to break the monotony of too many left-handers in the top order prompted the team management to bring back the opener.
So what kind of conversations has the coach had to keep Samson in the right frame of mind, as it becomes difficult for a player to be left out of the squad all the time?
“I speak to everyone and most importantly the guys who are part of this squad are world class players and that’s why they represent the country. We always knew the talent Sanju had. Three T20s, not many people have it, so we always knew that.
“And we always knew that whenever we needed him in the World Cup game, he would come and provide for us.”
Gambhir believes the seeds of the match-winning knock against the West Indies were sown during the quickfire 15-ball 24 he scored against Zimbabwe when he replaced Rinku in the previous game.
“He delivered for us against Zimbabwe. We got the start we wanted in the first three overs. And today, against Zimbabwe, he showed his talent again from where he left off. And that’s what we expect Sanju to do more consistently.”
The distinguishing feature of Samson’s batting was the speed at which he scored runs. He went with a strike rate of around 200 (194) but never looked like he was using hammer and tongs. Even Gambhir agreed.
“I actually thought he didn’t pace the delivery at all. It was just a very, very normal cricket delivery and I never saw him apply muscle to the ball and that’s the kind of talent he has.”
Samson was seen hitting a lot of balls on the ground and running some quick doubles; this was something not usually associated with his format.
“Once you realize that you’re in control of the game and you feel good, you start hitting the ball into the net really well.”
His critics have always criticized him for his lack of consistency, but Gambhir believes this strike is the beginning of many more strikes to come from Samson.
“I’ve always said he’s a world class player, he’s a great talent and hopefully he can start from now on and hopefully we’ll see a lot more knocks like that from Sanju. It was all about supporting him.
“Today was a day where he probably showed his true potential as well. And hopefully this is his starting time and he probably stays for two more games,” the coach said optimistically.
