Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim noted that Sanju Samson goes through quiet phases in his career, but he can deliver once he faces more than 10 deliveries. Samson returned with scores of 5 and 0 on the Ireland tour and was dismissed after scoring one run off seven balls in the first T20I against England at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.
Samson had scored 321 runs in five matches of the T20 World Cup 2026 and played a key role in taking India to glory. Furthermore, Samson had a decent run in IPL 2026, scoring 477 runs in 14 matches for Chennai Super Kings.
Saba Karim said on JioStar, “He got out to the seventh ball. On the six balls he had played before this, it seemed like either a big shot or a wicket was loading, and such phases come in Sanju’s career. If his wicket falls, it falls in the first 10 balls. If he comes out from that, he plays a very big knock. The length they bowled kept Sanju in check. He didn’t get the elevation or room to play shots.”
“His go-to shot against seam bowlers is to hit over the infield. The England pace bowlers prevented that, and that’s why a little pressure was mounting on Sanju. This situation has come in Sanju Samson’s career many times. However, I expect that he will come out of here and play a big knock for sure,” he added.
On the other hand, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan revealed the technical glitch in Samson’s batting, saying his bat face remains close.
“You want to take the ball away from Sanju Samson. Even if you don’t take the ball away, you want to keep the line outside the off-stump because his bat face remains closed. When his bat face is closed and he tries to play on the off-side, the bat face opens up at times,” he said.
Pathan praised Saqib Mahmood and captain Harry Brook for planning Samson’s dismissal with guile.
“That’s why we have seen him getting out in the slips, caught behind, and behind square many times. The thought process was to get him out with that plan. The field was changed, the bowler bowled that line, a slightly shorter length was bowled, where the ball was stopping a little, and Sanju got out there,” Pathan elaborated.
The second T20I between India and England will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday.
