'Sanju is my first choice, he's your obsession,' says Ashwin to fan mocking Samson

Sanju Samson's performance across India's five-match T20I series against New Zealand proved inconsistent despite an encouraging start. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter opened with a strong 67-run knock in the first encounter but managed only 14, 18, 4 and 4 in the subsequent matches, accumulating 107 runs across the five games. India secured the series 3-2, though New Zealand claimed the final two matches to narrow the margin.

Ravichandran Ashwin, the former India off-spinner, has consistently backed Samson as his preferred choice for India's T20I opening slot. When a social media user mocked Samson's selection and questioned the decision, Ashwin responded with a pointed Hindi remark that highlighted the contrast between his strategic preference and the critic's apparent fixation on the batter's recent form.

"Sanju is my first choice, he's your full-time obsession," Ashwin wrote on X, addressing the fan's repeated criticism of Samson's inconsistent run in the series.

Samson's struggle and Ashwin's backing

Samson's struggle in the middle matches of the series underscored the challenges India faced in establishing consistency at the top of the order. His dismissal for 4 runs in the fifth T20I at Hamilton illustrated the difficulty he encountered against New Zealand's bowling attack, which exploited seaming conditions and variable bounce throughout the contest.

Following his absence from the Zimbabwe T20 internationals, where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was named Player of the Series, Samson returned for India's home series against Afghanistan. The wicketkeeper demonstrated improved form with scores of 10, 57 and 50 in that series, suggesting a return to the consistency that had made him a contender for the opening slot in India's T20I plans.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer reflected on India's performance in the fifth match at Hamilton, acknowledging both the team's efforts and areas requiring improvement. Iyer noted that despite the challenging conditions, India had managed to post a competitive total and had opportunities to secure the series earlier.

"It was plausible, honestly. We could have been better considering the start we got in the middle overs, the way Ishan and I created the momentum. And then from there on we lost back-to-back wickets. And then suddenly pressure on the new batsman," Iyer said after the match.

The India captain addressed the difficulty of batting on the Hamilton pitch, where seaming conditions and variable bounce made stroke-play challenging for the visiting batsmen. Iyer and Tilak Varma both fell to similar deliveries that exploited the hard length and movement available to New Zealand's bowlers.

"It wasn't an easy wicket to play on, especially when the ball was seaming and holding a bit. And also skidding through at times. You must have seen a couple of us; Tilak and I got out in a similar fashion. So yeah, it was challenging, especially with that hard length. But to get to 194, yeah, it was reasonable, I feel. I think we still could have been better with our bowling and fielding. We were a bit sloppy," he added.