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NEW DELHI: Sanju Samson’s silent run has raised eyebrows across the cricketing fraternity, with fans and experts wondering what exactly has gone wrong.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has now jumped into the discussion, offering a detailed take on Samson’s poor run and pointing out a clear pattern in his dismissals.
Chopra points to a familiar trend
Chopra feels Samson’s issues aren’t new and have been building over the last year. He said the problem first surfaced during the England series and has continued since then, which is unusual for a batter of Samson’s quality in T20 cricket.
“I think now this is twice in about 12 months. It all started with that England series. Very rarely do you find a top-class batter developing a pattern, especially in the shortest format of the game,” Chopra said during a discussion on ESPNcricinfo.
Short ball proving costly
Chopra further highlighted how Samson has repeatedly fallen to the short ball, especially against pace. According to him, the dismissals have followed the same script, with catches being taken in the deep.
“He got dismissed five times in the same fashion, short ball caught in the deep. If you see his dismissals versus pace, there is an eerie pattern to it,” he remarked.
Technical issues behind the slump
Going deeper into the technical side, Chopra analysed Samson’s stance and movement at the crease. He felt Samson’s positioning is restricting his footwork and affecting his shot execution.
“You go deep inside the crease even before the ball is bowled. You try and play the ball, but the front foot doesn’t go anywhere. As a result, your bat actually closes every single time you play,” Chopra explained.
Chopra also pointed out that Samson escaped once due to luck, but the underlying issue remained. He said the same mistake showed up again in the following game.
“He got lucky with an outside edge once in Thiruvananthapuram. In the previous game again, he closed the bat a bit too early, so a pattern has developed,” Chopra concluded.
