Wasim Jaffer said that Sanju Samson might have impressed one and all with his performance in the recent ODI series against South Africa, but the Kerala star can’t replace Rishabh Pant in India's ODI set-up.
However, the former Indian batter said that Samson should be in the scheme of things the way he is batting, but that doesn’t mean he should come into the team at the cost of Pant.
Jaffer also admitted that Pant’s numbers are not good in T20Is, but there is no replacement for the left-hander in Tests and ODIs. The former opener also lauded Pant's his knock of 125* runs off 113 balls in an ODI against England recently.
Notably, Samson showed consistency with the bat in the ODI series against South Africa, scoring 86* runs off 63 balls, 30* runs off 36 balls, and 2* in his three outings.
Wasim Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo: “Sanju Samson has definitely impressed me a lot. There's always a question mark on his consistency but he showed that in this series. He couldn't win India the game in the first match but finished the game in the second and remained not out in both (all three) games.”
He further explained, “I feel we forget his series-winning century in England very easily. That was in one-day cricket. In T20 cricket, definitely, he's not very consistent, especially at number four and five but in Tests and one-dayers, I don't think there's any opposition to him yet.”
Jaffer signed off by saying, “Although KL Rahul can keep wickets and Sanju Samson has been impressive, I don't think you can think of replacing Rishabh Pant in one-day cricket. Sanju Samson should be in the scheme of things because of how he plays, but not at the cost of Rishabh Pant.”
