Samson failed to convert a solid start into a big score in the series opener.
Once hailed as a prodigious talent, Sanju Samson made his India debut in 2015 at the age of 21. For the next five years, he was overlooked in the national side before he finally earned a call-up in 2020.
As of today, Samson has represented India in 16 ODIs and 31 T20Is, amassing close to 1000 runs across the white-ball formats with one hundred and five half-centuries.
While Samson is yet to cement his place in the national set-up, the rest to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill has once again opened doors for him in the shortest format.
The wicketkeeper-batter opened the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior on Sunday (October 6). He looked in fine touch during his 19-ball stay at the crease but failed to convert a solid start into a big score and was dismissed for 29.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra weighed in on Sanju Samson’s promising knock in the series opener, saying that the 29-year-old was focusing on timing the ball rather than hitting it hard to fetch boundaries.
"You need to talk about Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma was playing amazingly well until he was there but he got run out. But how well did Sanju play. Gautam Gambhir said long back that if Sanju Samson doesn't play for India, it's India's loss. He was made to open. The silken touch was seen. He wasn't hitting the ball hard. It seemed like he didn't want to hurt the ball, and he was hitting one four after another. When everyone was hitting, he also hit but by caressing the ball. You were getting hit, you were bleeding but you were not feeling the pain," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
According to Aakash Chopra, if Samson fails to score big runs in the next two matches, he will be left out of the team once again.
"He is good. He scored 29 runs. My only thing was that since he had reached here, he should go slightly further ahead. He should score a few more runs because, otherwise, they would drop him. He keeps moving in and out (of the side), and up and down (the batting order)," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Sanju Samson will get another opportunity to register a big score in the second T20I against Bangladesh, due to be held in Delhi on Wednesday (October 9).