Former Indian national cricket team opener Aakash Chopra highlighted star wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson’s utterly ordinary performance against express pace.
Aakash Chopra said that Sanju Samson’s inability to play express pace is a cause for concern as he mentioned that batsmen’s strike rate is decreasing compared to pacers.
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Sanju Samson failed in the first two T20Is against England
Star Kerala wicketkeeper and batsman Sanju Samson has not got off to a good start in T20I cricket in 2025. Ever since he started innings, he has been in sensational form with the bat and scored three brilliant centuries.
Samson received full support from head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and made sure to reciprocate the duo’s faith.
However, the opening batsman is yet to be fired in the ongoing five-match T20I series against the Three Lions. In the first match at Eden Gardens, he scored 26 runs off 20 balls, with 4 fours and 1 six, before being dismissed by the quick Jofra Archer.
In the second T20I in Chennai, he did not look comfortable in the middle during the runs and managed just 5 runs from 7 balls, before being dismissed once again by Archer.
His performance was utterly ordinary – Aakash Chopra on Samson
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra noted a major flaw in Samson’s batting as he said on his YouTube channel that the wicketkeeper-batsman is struggling against express pace.
Chopra said they dug up some statistics and found that Samson fails to score runs when he faces a delivery over 140 kmph and his strike rate also drops.
“Abhishek Sharma is out. He scored runs in the last match. So we won’t talk much about him. Our statistics team released the statistics of how Sanju Samson played when the ball speed is more than 140 kmph. the performance was very ordinary. He didn’t score a single goal and he also lost his wicket,” he said.
“His strike rate is very low. He goes deep into the crease and goes a bit towards square leg. Bowlers are bouncers and they set the trap by keeping the fielder in the deep. He was caught in the deep twice in two games is just a talking point at the moment,” he added. cricketer turned commentator.
The story of centuries and ducks was ongoing, which is fine, but… – Aakash Chopra
The former India opener further said that Sanju Samson has legitimate issues with pace and bounce and needs to address those issues. He elaborated:
“He scored three centuries if we see five matches before this series.
“The story of centuries and ducks has been going on, which is fine, but if this is his response to serious bowling, if you take away that 22-run Gus Atkinson (in the first T20I) because you want to improve, you realize he hasn’t achieved too much runs and that he has problems with pace and bouncers.”
