Time is upon Sanju Samson to prove his mettle

Sanju Samson has not set the cricket world on fire in recent times. In fact he has hit a low after his productive tour of South Africa in November 2024 when he smashed the home attack for two centuries - 107 at Kingsmead, Durban and 109 not out at the Wanderers, Johannesburg. Superb knocks indeed!

But the once brilliant striker of the ball has managed only one half century after his sizzling show in South Africa and that's been a 45-ball 56 against Oman at Abu Dhabi in September last. Seven single digit scores in the last sixteen innings - he did not get to bat on four occasions - has set tongues wagging about his 'automatic' selection for the ICC Men's Twenty20 World Cup set to start against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium coming Saturday.

Samson simply doesn't have the numbers - on the basis of his performance in the recent five-match series against New Zealand- for the team management in Head Coach in Gautam Gambhir, skipper Suryakumar Yadav and chairman of the senior selection committee in Ajit Agarkar to write his name at the top of the order with Abhishek Sharma. Samson faced 34 balls for a total of 46 runs. He made 10, 6,0,24 and 6; clearly the team management would be looking at options to get the India innings get a rollicking start, to start with the match against the USA, relatively a lightweight team.

Samson may yet make the cut in the early part of the World Cup the men on blue would start as the defending champion. The team management may give the Abhishek Sharma - Sanju Samson pair another go; in 18 innings they have tallied 385 runs for the poor average of 21.39, the drastic drop caused by failures in the last thirteen months. The team management may not be driven to chop and change at the start.

India's best opening pair in the Twenty20 format is Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal - 527 runs in ten innings at 58.56, but unfortunately both are not in the scheme of things.

The selection committee and the team management took the call to get rid of Gill following his inability to get the big shots going in the three match home series against South Africa when he made only 32 off 31 balls. Gill though had averaged 44 in the previous five match series in Australia, making 132 from five outings.

With the objective of touching a high strike rate in the first six over power play - India could be hoping to get at least 60 of the first 36 against top class bowlers - the idea of starting it with Abhishek Sharma - Sanju Samson could be continued with Suryakumar Yadav and the in form Ishan Kishan to follow.

But the big headache will be to find a slot for left hander Tilak Varma who has resumed playing and even impressed with a good effort in the warm up against the USA playing for India 'A' at the DY Patil Stadium.

Three days away from the first match, Samson looks a starter; he fits in only as an opener. He has made 1078 runs in 49 innings (57 matches). For someone who started off in 2015, this World Cup season could turn out sort of an inflection point for the Kerala stumper-batter. More poor scores may bring an end to his men in blue career. He is running 32.

In the 22 series he has so far played in the last eleven years, Samson has belted the ball for scoring rates in excess of 11, five times, and in excess of eight, six times. Samson is not shy to throw his wrists from the word go and he will be making an attempt to get cracking in a few days. He will get chances against the USA, Namibia and Netherlands to do that.

Samson's dismal run started in the five match home series against England - just 51 runs off 43 balls. The time is upon him to set it right in the big stage of Twenty20 cricket.

Samson's immediate threat for the top of the order slot will come from Kishan who pulverised the New Zealand bowling. The left hander is of the dare-devil type; he made 110 in three matches in the come back series in Australia and followed it with 215 in four innings against New Zealand with blazing knocks of 76 off 32 balls at Raipur and 103 off 43 balls at Karyavattom (Thiruvananthapuram). Kishan has stormed back into the team and he will be pencilled in the playing eleven, Kishan has 1 x 100 and 7 x 50s to show for and he is going to be a fixture in the immediate future.

Samson has been part of 41 wins for India in the shortest format; but he is yet to play a World Cup match. He will get a chance with a rider that he has to prove his mettle. He is bold and brave and has all the shots in the book.