Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has urged Sanju Samson to show consistency after the first T20I against the West Indies, which the hosts won by eight wickets. Jaffer said pressure will always be there on Samson as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is waiting in the wings.
Samson had a soft dismissal after scoring 11 runs off nine balls as India chased down 172 in 14.4 overs to win the opening game. The wicketkeeper-batter has now struggled in four consecutive matches, including the one-off T20I against Japan and two games at the Asian Games. He could only manage nine runs in two matches of the Asian Games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Wasim Jaffer said on his YouTube Channel, “He should take some time. He knows that with Abhishek Sharma at the other end, the runs are not going to stop. Sometimes he acts hastily, and this format is such that you get stuck if you don’t connect one or two shots. Sanju will have to pay attention to who is sitting on the bench. That pressure will always be there on him. He needs to show consistency and not give the selector, captain, or coach any chance to drop him. He is a terrific player, and his consistency has been good recently.”
On the other hand, former Indian batter Jaffer praised Shreyas Iyer for scoring a majestic knock of 102 runs off just 43 balls.
“After a very long time, Shreyas Iyer, our Sarpanch sahab, played like a Sarpanch sahab. We’ve seen this in the IPL, but it was missing in international cricket. But the way he played today, it was a treat to watch. His six-hitting made it a one-sided contest.”
Iyer scored 10 fours and six sixes and was awarded Player of the Match. The second T20I between India and the West Indies will be played at Ranchi on Friday.
