Intent. The term has been thrown around in Indian cricket for a while now. From cricket pundits to fans, to even some players, the call to show the right kind of intent has been at an all-time high. Ironically, the players showing it have been thrown around too.
Sanju Samson has been one of the very few players in Indian cricket who has played the kind of T20 cricket in demand. Attacking, fearless, and in your face. But unfortunately for Samson, the method hasn't yielded any dividends.
More often than not, the RR Skipper finds himself on the wrong side of the selection. Even if he gets selected in the squad, making it to the playing eleven has been tough for him.
His exclusion from the playing eleven even when the likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant aren't available, speaks a lot about where the team management stands on his position in the team. Samson last played an international T20 match against Ireland and scored a brilliant 77. He wasn't included in the first T20I vs England despite that performance.
In the management's defence, they already have a lot going on in the batting department. With Rishabh Pant set to return in the 2nd T20I, they have a big headache as to who he'll replace. Will it be Dinesh Karthik, who at this very moment, seems indispensible, or will they take a bold call to drop Rishabh Pant altogether? We aren't even talking about KL Rahul's imminent return to the side yet.
The truth is this Indian T20 side already has a lot of headaches as far as batting is concerned. Sanju Samson is a great player, even brilliant. But so are the rest of them. Samson's inclusion in the Indian team again gained steam after the IPL, but the like of Pant, Suryakumar, Ishan Kishan, and Rahul has been with the team for quite some time now. Karthik's place shouldn't be up for debate, for he plays a completely different role in the side.
Samson, unfortunately, has been the right person, but at the wrong time.
He has been included in the ODI team that will take on the West Indies, and maybe, just maybe, the team management can utilise him in that set-up, keeping in mind 50-over World Cup next year.
