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Cricket PlayersSanju Samson ‘searching for runs, his mind is jumbled’: Ashwin alarms Team India to address star batter's mental state
Ravichandran Ashwin said Sanju Samson is coming off as someone who is just “searching for runs.”
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave an honest assessment of Sanju Samson's form, saying the latter is looking like someone who is “searching for some runs.” The Kerala batter made his way into the playing XI for the T20 World Cup match against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday after Abhishek Sharma failed to recover in time from a stomach infection. Samson started his innings like a house on fire, hitting three sixes and one four; however, his knock was cut short by Ben Shikongo in the second over of the game.
As a result, Samson went back to the hut after scoring 22 runs off eight balls in his T20 World Cup debut. Speaking of his dismissal, the Namibia pacer rolled his fingers across the ball and took pace off. This deceived Samson, and he only managed to chip the ball to deep mid-wicket, and Louren Steenkamp completed a simple catch.
Ashwin, who retired from international cricket in December 2024, said the current team management would hope that Abhishek recovers in time for the Pakistan match on February 15 in Colombo.
Also Read: Gary Kirsten can’t stop giggling in Namibia dugout after Sanju Samson’s T20 World Cup debut suffers premature end
“Sanju Samson is looking like a batter who is searching for runs. His mind is jumbled, and many things are swirling around in it. The team backed him in the absence of Abhishek Sharma, but I think India will be hoping for Abhishek's comeback,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“Abhishek is a big player for India. Speaking of Samson's dismissal, he just tapped it to the fielder. It looked like someone who was not very clear in his head. He didn't expect the ball to be there. Such a mental state can affect any player; it is important to address it. If it were me, I would just advise him not to think too much and play fearlessly. That's the only thing I'll tell him,” he added.
‘Struggled against spin’
The match against Namibia saw India fumble a bit against Gerhard Erasmus's spin. India, which went past the 100-run mark before the conclusion of the seventh over, finished with 209/9 in 20 overs. Erasmus returned with figures of 4/20 as he spun a web around the defending champions.
A trial by spin awaits India in the next game against Pakistan, and Usman Tariq, Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan will look to get on top of the Indian batters. Ashwin believes that India should improve against spin in the ongoing tournament, if they are to go all the way.
“We struggled against spin. The ball was also stopping a bit. I think India were given a bit of food for thought regarding how we can tackle the spin,” said Ashwin.
