IND vs AFG: Is Sanju Samson making things tough for him with his inconsistency?

Sanju Samson continues awful form in T20I cricket with another failure against Afghanistan in the 1st T20I.

The three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan has started with a lot of interesting selection debates. Shreyas Iyer is the captain of the Indian team, and the team includes some interesting combinations of experienced players, comebacks and debutants. Given that the Asian Games are just around the corner, each game provides an opportunity for the management to evaluate their combinations.

One of the most interesting discussions prior to the first game was about the opening pair of India. Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and the exciting youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi were contesting for the opening spots, making the selection really tough. India eventually settled with Samson and Abhishek as openers, leaving Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI.

Once again, this selection brings Samson into focus. The Kerala batter has proved many times that he can be a match-winner at the international level, but inconsistency has been one thing that has always been talked about in his career as a T20I player. Given increased competition, his place in the team can no longer be considered absolutely safe.

Sanju Samson continues his inconsistent streak in T20Is: Should he be snubbed?

The toughest question to answer about Samson is how he will manage to bridge the gap between his undoubted talents and consistency. Once in action, this right-handed batter can single-handedly turn a T20 game on its head in just a couple of overs. But what he has been unable to do thus far is replicate this impact consistently over a prolonged period of time.

Being offered a spot in the playing XI against Afghanistan, Sanju Samson came in to open the innings for India alongside Abhishek. He was dismissed for just 10 runs, and his inconsistency in T20 international cricket continued. 

This has now become all the more important for him after India have decided to go for their younger players. With the emergence of Sooryavanshi as an aggressive opening batter, and Abhishek already cementing his place in the top order of the Indian team, things could get tricky for him.

Role definition also becomes an important factor in his case. He has often been shuffled around and has not been sure of his batting order in the lineup, which affects his consistency, but as there are other candidates now, he cannot afford to make too many mistakes.

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