Former Indian Test opener Wasim Jaffer has given credit to Sanju Samson for giving away his opening slot to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the third T20I against New Zealand at the Hnry Stadium, Wellington, on Tuesday.
Samson was demoted to number three whereas Sooryavanshi was promoted as an opener in the third game after the latter could not grab his chance while batting at one down in the second match.
Sooryavanshi scored an impressive knock of 45 runs off 19 balls and he added 133 runs off 43 balls with Abhishek Sharma. Samson, on the other hand, was dismissed after scoring 18 runs.
Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube Channel, “I feel Sanju also deserves a lot of credit. It’s not easy to give up your batting position when you have scored so many centuries and runs at that number. Sanju is a team man, and you want players like him in your team. He can play both fast bowling and spin well. Even though both are left-handers, they are extremely explosive batters. So, Sanju deserves credit for giving up his batting position for Vaibhav.”
Jaffer praised Sooryavanshi for playing a crucial knock and said it is imperative for the youngster to score runs at the International stage after savoring success in the IPL.
He added, “And Vaibhav also played well today. He needs a few more runs in international cricket. You know, the IPL is a different thing, and international cricket is a different challenge. So, somewhere along the line, you need that assurance. It’s not that he hasn’t scored runs in international cricket. He has scored quite a few runs in his short career, but you need the assurance that you can score runs at this level as well. Although he scored only 45 runs, I’m sure that would have given him a lot of confidence.”
The fourth T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Eden Park, Auckland, on Friday.
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