'If You're Going to Play Sanju Samson at No. 5 or 6, Play Rinku Singh Instead': Abhishek Nayar

Abhishek Nayar feels that Sanju Samson will get more opportunities in the Indian team as he didn’t bat at his ideal position in the T20I series against West Indies. Samson failed to impress in the recently concluded series against West Indies where he scored just 32 runs in 3 innings. It was a below-par show from Samson as he faced scrutiny from the fans and the critics for wasting the opportunities.

While Nayar pointed out that the flamboyant wicketkeeper batter didn’t bat at his ideal position and that the team management should give him more chances.

“I am not sure if he has lost an opportunity. He will definitely get an opportunity again because he is Sanju Samson. If you are in Sanju’s position, you will ask just one question that whether he is a No. 6 batter and whether he has batted at No. 6,” Nayar told Jio Cinema.

Samson, who bats at number 3 or 4 position in IPL and domestic cricket, failed to get going in the lower-middle order where he was given the role of the finisher. In the series decider, Samson scored just 13 runs which drew backlash from the critics.

“He hasn’t done that. I feel it was a new role for him. He played three innings, didn’t make an impression. Probably there can be a question raised that he needs to score runs if he has been given opportunities. Today he was made to bat at No. 5,” he added.

Nayar, who is also the assistant coach for KKR in IPL, suggested that if the Indian team wants to utilise the full potential of Samson then they should give him a chance at the number 3 position.

“I believe if you want to utilize Sanju Samson more, bat him at No. 3 because that is his number. He is used to that and he is successful there, or else don’t play him,” he added.

The KKR assistant coach further said that India should play Rinku Singh instead of Samson if they want to bat at the number 5 or 6 spot.

“If you are going to play him at No. 5 or No. 6, play Rinku Singh instead. If you play Samson in the top three, you will get more out of him because he plays shots in the powerplay and then plays the spinners. So I believe not the right place but he will get opportunities,” he added.