Abhishek Nayar, a former assistant coach for India, has cautioned the team management against altering the lineup in order to include Sanju Samson. Samson should only be called up if the team can fit him into the top three, according to Nayar, who cautioned that a middle-order return could not produce the intended outcomes.
After India suffered their worst-ever T20I loss, losing to England by 125 runs in the third game of the ongoing five-game series, a broadcaster asked if India should think about removing Tilak Varma from the starting lineup to make room for Samson in a middle-order role. This prompted Nayar to make his remarks.
Having managed only six runs across three T20Is—including two matches against Ireland, which India lost—Samson was left out in favor of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
"I really feel that if you have to get Sanju Samson back in, you want to position him in a place where he can succeed. Now, just because you want to bring him in, you're going to bat him at No. 4, 5, or 6. It's not something he's done a lot. It's not something he's been successful at.
He's been best suited when he's opened or batted in the top three. So if you aren't giving him that position, then I feel it's better that you don't play Sanju Samson and instead stick with the kind of batting line-up India has," Nayar said on JioHotStar.
Samson has done well as an opener with an average above 30 in T20Is, but it drops to 22.63 at No. 4, where he has batted in 65 innings. At No. 5, a position he has occupied only 14 times, that average plummets to 15.33.
Tilak Varma, the new India vice-captain in T20Is, has struggled to get runs in the ongoing tour. Apart from a 46-ball 56, Tilak has not crossed 20 in any of his other five knocks. Tilak managed 3 runs off 11 balls as India slumped to 76 all-out and their worst-ever T20I defeat in Nottingham.
Nayar argued that the main problem has been a failure to adequately assess conditions in Ireland and England, which have been in sharp contrast to the pitches seen during the IPL earlier this year, and that the team management must refrain from pressing the panic button.
"They'll have to reflect on it. As Gautam Gambhir said, they've got 190 in two innings, but that is batting first. They struggled chasing because they hadn't assessed conditions enough. They haven't found the right tempo to score runs.
You don't want to press the panic button. You don't want to make changes for the sake of it. If Sanju Samson has to come in, that's all the management has to do: position him in a place where he can succeed,” Nayar added.
India and England will clash in the 4th T20I in Bristol on July 9, and India will need to win the game to stay alive in the series.
