Rahul Dravid, India's head coach for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, said that wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson would be disappointed with his performances in the recent T20I series on Sri Lanka tour.
India lost the T20I series 1-2 to Sri Lanka in Colombo, as the Islanders defeated the Men in Blue by 7 wickets in the third and final T20I after winning the second T20I by 3 wickets to win their first bilateral series against the Indian team after 13 years on Thursday, July 29.
In the victorious ODI series, Samson got to play in the final ODI where he managed to score 46, but in the three T20Is, the right-handed batsman could manage just 34 runs against Sri Lanka.
Dravid told ANI during a virtual post-match press conference: “I think, to be honest, not the easiest of the conditions to bat in for Sanju as well. Obviously, in the one ODI game, he got a chance in, he got off to a good start and he scored 46.
But in the T20Is, probably, batting well in the first one, the wickets in the last two T20Is have been challenging. But yeah, I guess he will look back at this series and be a little disappointed. Having said that, not only Sanju, we need to be patient with these talented kids.”
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Wanindu Hasaranga's four-wicket haul helped Sri Lanka to restrict India to a mediocre 81/8 in the allotted 20 overs and the coach admitted that it was a poor batting display from the tourists.
The legendary batsman added, “Today, to be honest, we did not bat really well and Wanindu Hasaranga upfront was exceptional, he has been exceptional right through the series, we just lost too many wickets and 81 was never going to be good enough. Sometimes in challenging conditions, you need to fight your way and make it to 130-140. I think that has been great learning for our young players.”
Speaking about the challenges of being in quarantine in Sri Lanka and playing 6 matches in 45 days, Dravid noted: “It has not been easy. We only played six matches in 45 days. For a variety of reasons, initially, some of the Sri Lanka players picked up COVID-19 so the series got postponed. It has been challenging, the boys have been under quarantine and bubbles.
We have only seen the hotel, the ground, and even the hotel, only some parts of it, we have not been able to go to some parts of the hotel. Just a credit to the boys on how they maintained their spirit and enthusiasm.”
He concluded, “I cannot fault anyone for their effort. Just the way, Shikhar and Bhuvneshwar created the environment they did, deserves a lot of credit as well. You cannot fault them for their effort and energy. It was not an easy situation to be in, we are lucky to play cricket as well in times like these. We have seen people go through a lot of suffering, we feel blessed to do what we do.”
(With ANI Inputs)
