Sanju Samson's Temple Snub Mirrors His Batting Struggles as T20 World Cup Selection Looms
As the Indian cricket team, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav, paid their respects at the revered Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday morning, one notable absence cast a shadow over the solemn occasion. Sanju Samson, the local hero and crowd favourite, was conspicuously missing, barred from entering the shrine due to temple customs.
A Familiar Batting Collapse in Visakhapatnam
Just two days earlier in Visakhapatnam, Samson's struggles with the bat followed a painfully familiar pattern. During the T20 match, he managed a mere 15-ball stay, displaying little authority before his subdued exit. Mitchell Santner delivered the final blow, with a delivery that slid past Samson's defence as he remained perched on the back foot, his bat groping outside the line.
This dismissal was both technically explainable and emotionally predictable, barely disturbing the evening's proceedings yet echoing loudly within a career already burdened with unresolved questions.
Numbers That Tell a Troubling Story
The statistics offer little comfort for Samson's supporters. With just forty runs across four matches, his performance invites impatience rather than indulgence. His opportunity in Vizag came only because Ishan Kishan was nursing a niggle, and Kishan's subsequent form has only sharpened the selection arithmetic ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Kishan has been batting with remarkable clarity and intent, qualities that selectors typically reward. Should Samson be excluded from the showpiece event, India might be forced to field an unconventional top order featuring three left-handers: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Tilak Varma. While this raises questions about balance, given Samson's recent returns, it's a compromise selectors may be willing to accept.
Coaching Support Amidst Uncertainty
On the eve of the fifth T20 match, India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak publicly backed Samson. "Sanju is a senior player. He has not scored as many runs as everybody would like to, but that's part of a cricketer's career. It's up to an individual how to keep his mind strong and our job is to keep him in a good frame of mind," Kotak stated.
Part of Samson's challenge stems from the fact that nearly a decade after his international debut, he still lacks a clearly defined role. There have been promising stretches where permanence seemed inevitable, most notably during a seven-match run against Bangladesh and South Africa where he struck three centuries as an opener.
The Role Clarity Conundrum
Yet each surge has been followed by a reset. The England series exposed familiar fault lines, a middling IPL season stalled his momentum, and by the Asia Cup, he was pushed down the order to accommodate Shubman Gill. Batting lower in the order has dulled his rhythm and heightened his vulnerability against spin bowling.
Former Kerala pacer Tinu Yohannan offered his perspective: "There's nothing wrong with his technique. He's always been a top-order player and was never a finisher. Lack of role clarity may have hurt his chances. If he is dropped, tough luck — but good for Indian cricket because we have so many options now."
One Final Audition Before the World Cup
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel maintains that Samson is just one significant innings away from rediscovering his touch. However, T20 cricket remains unforgiving, and time is running out. There may yet be one final audition for Samson in India's last T20 match before the World Cup squad announcement.
Samson's career has always existed on fine margins, balancing between brilliance and inconsistency. Right now, as the T20 World Cup selection approaches, those margins are narrowing at an alarming pace, mirroring his exclusion from the temple visit that symbolized both his local significance and his current predicament.
