Sanju Samson Shikhar Dhawan India vs New Zealand: The Indian think-tank has come in for a lot of criticism for not giving Sanju Samson a chance in the rain-affected T20I series against New Zealand. With the ODI series against New Zealand starting on Friday, many are hoping that the right-handed batsman will be given a chance. In the absence of several first-choice players in ODIs since July, Samson made the most of his chances, scoring 248 runs in eight 50-over innings at a high average of 82.66 and a strike-rate of 107.35, including two half-centuries.
With India now on course to finalize their squad for next year’s ODI World Cup, it remains to be seen whether the team will put their faith in Samson’s abilities against New Zealand and then push him to play a bigger role in the middle . Especially with his ability to counter spin very well.
Asked what he thinks about players like Samson who don’t get as many chances as they would have liked, skipper Dhawan stressed on how communication plays a huge role in such a scenario. The left-handed opener said, “Mostly, every player goes through this phase. It is good for the team that there are a lot of good players in the team. In such cases, dialogue is the better option, be it with the coach or the captain. Be from.”
Dhawan further explained how having communication and clarity on the bench can help players deal with being left out of the playing XI. “If there is a conversation, then the player gets clarity about why he is not playing and what is the reason behind it, because there can be many reasons behind it.”
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“So when that clarity and transparency is there, even when someone feels down, which is very natural, it can be a huge factor for the greater benefit of the team,” he added.
Waiting for a place in the Indian team is something that Dhawan knows very well. He was adjudged Player of the Tournament in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup for scoring 505 runs at an average of 84.16 including three centuries. But he had to wait till 2010 to earn his India cap and from 2013 onwards, he managed to establish himself as a mainstay across formats.
He said, “Sometimes I give him my example (how hard he had to work to establish himself in the Indian team), sometimes I don’t. It depends on whether the boys ask, So I tell them.”
