3 reasons why Sanju Samson and not Rishabh Pant should be Team India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in T20Is
Team India opened the batting with wicketkeeper-batters Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan in Mount Maunganui on Sunday, November 20, in the second T20I of the three-match series against New Zealand. The left-handed batters got the opportunity to bat at the top of the order after regular skipper Rohit Sharma and fellow opener KL Rahul were rested for the tour.
While Kishan did a reasonable job, scoring 36 off 31 deliveries, Pant looked completely out of sorts. He made a snail-paced six off 13 balls, perishing to speedster Lockie Ferguson. Opinions are divided over whether Team India should continue backing the aggressive southpaw or give Sanju Samson a chance.
Pant was preferred over Samson in Team India’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad, but Dinesh Karthik played most of the games. The left-hander was drafted into the playing XI for the last Super 12 match against Zimbabwe as well as the semi-final versus England, but could not do much with the willow.
It would be least surprising if Pant is again preferred over Samson in the playing XI for Tuesday’s (November 22) T20I against the Kiwis in Napier. However, looking at the larger picture, we analyze three reasons why the time has come for the 28-year-old Kerala cricketer to become India’s first-choice keeper in T20Is.
#1 Rishabh Pant has had more than enough chances
How much is too much? That is the question that needs to be asked in Pant’s case as far as the number of opportunities provided to him in T20Is is concerned. There is no doubting his talent, but for how long will the management and selectors keep backing him despite his non-performances?
The 25-year-old has played 65 T20Is, scoring 976 runs at an extremely poor average of 22.69 and a below-par strike rate of 125.77. Pant has a best of 65*, having crossed the half-century mark only thrice in 55 innings.
Not only his overall stats, but even his recent T20I record is also equally disappointing. Since the start of 2021, Pant has played 37 international matches in the shortest format, having scored only 566 runs at an average of 24.60. During this phase, he has crossed the half-century mark only once - 52* against West Indies in February 2022.
📹📹 Of scenic routes, mountains and meadows and some fun along the way as #TeamIndia touchdown Napier ahead of the third and final T20I against New Zealand.
#NZvIND https://t.co/zobGI3V0ml
In his last three T20I knocks, the Delhi batter has been dismissed for single-figure scores. Pant has never had a consistent run with the willow in T20Is. He has been picked only on reputation and on the basis of his exploits in Test cricket. The time has perhaps come to pause the lengthy experiment for now.
#2 Sanju Samson deserves a longer run
There was a time a couple of years back when Samson was criticized for not grabbing his chances at the international level. He kept getting out to rash shots after promising a lot. Some experts even branded him as “only good for the IPL”. To be fair to Samson, he has not even got half the number of chances that Pant has been given in T20Is.
Yes, Samson did fail miserably in his initial few matches for Team India. But to his credit, he has overcome that inconsistent phase and has delivered more often than not for the team in recent times, whenever the opportunity has come his way. It would be fair to say that Samson was unlucky not to be picked for the T20 World Cup 2022 ahead of Pant.
In his last five T20I knocks, the right-handed batter has registered scores of 39, 18, 77, 30*, and 15. Samson has been equally impressive in ODIs as well. In his last five innings in the 50-over format for India, he has notched up 43*, 15, 86*, 30*, and two*.
After the initial struggle, he is now able to translate his IPL and domestic success at the international level as well. Pant has had his run in the T20Is for Team India - getting a longer rope than he deserved. Now, Samson has earned the right to become the first-choice T20I keeper-batter by virtue of his consistent performances.
#3 India must start planning for the 2024 T20 World Cup
One of the reasons Team India looked like an unsettled outfit during the T20 World Cup in Australia was because, from start to finish, they seemed unsure about who the first-choice keeper-batter should be in the side. They began with Karthik, but backed Pant towards the end, eventually doing justice to neither player.
The decision to open with Pant in the second T20I against New Zealand and leave Samson out of the playing XI seemed a continuation of their tactic to keep experimenting with the former. While the next T20 World Cup is a couple of years away, the think tank would do well to settle in on their keeper-batter well in advance, or else the musical chairs might continue in the 2024 edition as well.
Following Team India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2022, a video of former head coach Ravi Shastri surfaced in which he was seen giving a message to management over Samson. His views went as follows:
"Look for other youngsters like Sanju Samson...do na chance. 10 match do usko. Aisa nehi ki do match khelaya and phir nikala. Baithao dusre logon ko. Do 10 match. Phir dekhna 10 match ke baad, decide karo ki aur opportunity dena hai ki nahi (Give him a chance. Give him 10 matches. Not like you play him in two games and then drop him. Drop the others, give him 10 matches and then take a call whether to give him more opportunities or not).”
It’s still not too late for the people in charge of the Men in Blue to pay heed to Shastri’s advice. Whether they follow his mantra is, of course, another matter altogether.
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