Former India opener turned coach Wasim Jaffer has said that he feels “really sad” to see Sanju Samson not using his opportunities in the three-match T20I series at home against Sri Lanka. He came as a replacement for Rishabh Pant but got to bat only in the final two T20Is. He scored 39 off 25 balls while batting at No. 4 in the second match and scored 18 off 12 while opening the batting in the third encounter as well.
While speaking to ESPNcricinfo after the series, in which India registered a 3-0 win, Wasim Jaffer said that Samson had a good chance to cement his place as a reserve wicketkeeper and batter. He added that the Rajasthan Royals captain has a “lot to offer” in the shortest format but is simply failing to grab the opportunities every time.
Wasim 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 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.”
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“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,” Wasim Jaffer again shared.
Wasim Jaffer also opined on India’s new T20I approach where they took an aggressive role. He pointed to captain Rohit Sharma’s evolved batting style as well.
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.”
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“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,” Wasim Jaffer concluded.
