Sanju Samson Sacking Zimbabwe Series Wrong Message India Players

Just two days after missing out on a spot in the playing XI to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson – the Player of the Tournament in India’s T20 World Cup triumph – has been dropped unceremoniously from the upcoming tour to Zimbabwe. The omission of the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman for the three matches in Harare from July 23 was the biggest talking point to emerge from the squad announced by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.

Throughout Agarkar’s tenure as chairman of selectors, he and his panel have shown their ruthless side. Even when it comes to dropping established names, they have taken bold decisions. When they think it’s time to move on, they have gone ahead and done that. From Mohammed Shami to Rohit Sharma to Virat Kohli, the list is endless. As recently as naming the India T20 squad for the trip to Ireland and England, Agarkar & Co showed no player is safe as they not only stripped Suryakumar Yadav of the T20I captaincy just three months after winning the title, they even dropped him from the squad.

And since the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi came into the fold, there have been questions from all corners about whose spot he would take. The answer to that came on Saturday in Manchester, where the left-hander took the spot of Samson, who had scores of 5, 0 & 1 in his last three innings.

While visuals of him having an animated discussion with head coach Gautam Gambhir soon after India handed the cap to Sooryavanshi surfaced, what none expected was that a bigger axe was about to fall on his head so quickly.

Samson has never been synonymous with consistency. He is the player who once said that he would happily take a 30 that makes an impact over a century in a losing cause. It’s this philosophy around which Samson has constructed his T20 game, as he prefers to make an impact by embracing a high-risk approach. This is what prompted India to bring him back into the XI midway through the T20 World Cup, when they had got off to an uncertain start.

After Samson’s arrival in Chennai for the must-win game against Zimbabwe, India appeared a changed outfit, becoming an unstoppable force. In the final three matches, Samson had scores of 97 not out, 89 and 89 – a run that would be hard for any Indian batsman to replicate in a World Cup. All three ended up as match- winning efforts.

There was a message for the team as well. Be it the semifinal against England or the final against New Zealand, despite a century there for the taking, Samson didn’t go chasing the milestone. He was dismissed trying to take the scoring rate higher on flat decks.

In a way, it was Samson repaying the faith the think tank had put in him by being selfless. Ever since Gambhir took over, there has been a constant message sent to the batting unit – be fearless and have a high-risk approach.

That brand of cricket comes only in a secure environment. In a format where batsmen don’t put a price on their wicket, they need the backing of the team management. When the coaches and selectors placed their faith in them to play bravely and not worry about getting dismissed, the batsmen flourished in the format. This is what happened with Samson. It is what has been a factor in Sooryavanshi’s emergence as well. They are all fearless because their spots were safe.

Now, by axing Samson from the squad after just three innings, this is not a bold call that Agarkar & Co have taken. It is a call taken on poor judgement, where an indirect message has been sent to the others – perform or perish. Given India’s talent depth in T20s, there are at least two players vying for every spot, so it is quite possible that one or the other doesn’t get an opportunity at all.

Is dropping Samson in the best interest of the team? Probably not. It is a team that is devoid of enough right-handers. And Samson’s dropping could potentially have a bearing on the rest, as they will believe runs are the only currency that can save them. When those thoughts come in, the high-risk approach will take a backseat. With the eye on runs, the strike rate could see a potential drop.

Being bold and ruthless may be the way of Agarkar & Co, but the decision to drop Samson isn’t either. It is a sign of using a player and throwing him out after he had fulfilled his role.

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