Samson relishing battle with teen star Sooryavanshi for India spot
- The left-hander was also India’s highest scorer with 151 runs in the team’s 3-0 sweep against hosts Zimbabwe in July
NEW DELHI: Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s rise has intensified the battle for places in India’s line-up but Sanju Samson, competing with the batting prodigy for the opener’s slot, says he relishes the challenge.
The 31-year-old hit an attacking 57 to lead India to a series-clinching win over Afghanistan in the second T20 international in New Delhi on Tuesday after being picked in the team ahead of Sooryavanshi.
Fast-tracked into the senior team after a stellar IPL season, 15-year-old Sooryavanshi became the youngest cricketer to represent India when he played against England at Manchester in a T20 international in July.
The left-hander was also India’s highest scorer with 151 runs in the team’s 3-0 sweep against hosts Zimbabwe in July.
But in the first two matches against Afghanistan, India opted for Samson to partner another swashbuckling opener, Abhishek Sharma.
Samson scored 10 in the opener but responded with a 22-ball blitz in the second match as India chased down their target of 160 with seven wickets and 31 balls to spare.
“We may be competitors to the outside world, but we are a team and we are playing for a country and we want to win the game first,” Samson told reporters after the victory.
“We just have to be ready for our own opportunity. We can’t sulk that, ‘Oh, I didn’t get (the chance), or why did they give it to him?’ Those kind of mindsets don’t work here,” he said.
“It is a very challenging place to be in… I know how hard these decisions are (for the management) when everyone has been performing really well.”
Samson made his T20 debut in 2015 but was not always the first choice of selectors due to his patchy batting form on the international stage.
But he came of age during the T20 World Cup in India in March despite being benched at the start of the tournament.
He impressed with the bat in the semi-final and final with attacking half-centuries as India defended their crown.
Samson said he switches off his internet to screen out external noise over selection choices.
“I try to turn off the Wi-Fi,” he told reporters.
“But sometimes the Wi-Fi comes back on and I see the comments of the senior players.
“At first, it feels bad. I am not a machine. We are not robots that it wouldn’t affect us at all. It definitely matters, and you kind of get a bit affected.”
India have an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match Afghanistan series, with the final match on Thursday.
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