Former India skipper Kris Srikkanth expressed his disappointment over Sanju Samson's struggles against the short deliveries in the just-concluded T20I series against England.

Srikkanth felt Samson was unwilling to keep his ego aside and find ways to avoid falling into the short-ball trap set by the English pacers.

While the Men in Blue clinched the T20I series 4-1, Samson returned with scores of 26, 5, 3, 1, and 16 in the five matches. Before this dip in form, the wicketkeeper-batter enjoyed a purple patch, during which he slammed three centuries across seven T20Is against Bangladesh and South Africa last year.

Speaking on his YouTube show, Srikkanth didn’t only address Samson’s weakness against short balls but also warned that the latter might lose his place to Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"Sanju Samson seems to have missed the bus. For the fifth time, getting out in the same manner. He has played a similar shot. I think he is trying to show his ego. He is trying to say 'no, no, I will play this shot'. Is he going on an ego trip or struggling? I am not sure," Srikkanth said.

"It's very sad. I am disappointed. We spoke about why he was not picked in the Champions Trophy squad. If he continues playing like this, let's say thank you, sorry, Yashasvi Jaiswal is back. In the next T20I match, Yashasvi automatically comes in, in my opinion," he added.

Sanju Samson sealed his place in the T20I side after his sensational show against Bangladesh and South Africa. However, competition for spots at the top of the order is increasing.

The likes of Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were not picked for the T20Is in recent months due to their Test commitments. It will be interesting to see how the selectors and team management deal with the problem of plenty when all of them are available for selection in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup 2026.

According to Srikkanth, Suryakumar Yadav is facing a similar issue as well. The Indian captain managed to amass only 28 runs in five T20Is against England.

"Look at Suryakumar Yadav. Show me his numbers from the last 10 innings, that's what we need to look at in T20Is. Look at this series, he has tried to play the same shot. He has tried to flick and has gotten top-edges that have carried.

"Both Samson and Suryakumar need to work on this. I think Suryakumar is not able to execute his flicks, which have been his strengths, due to the extra pace. I don't know if he is playing too early. He is rushing into his shots, not playing relaxed.

"Suryakumar is one of my favourite players. I hope he makes corrections and comes back."