Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has called for Sanju Samson to be included in the Indian limited-overs side, following Suryakumar Yadav’s second consecutive golden duck in the ongoing ODI series against Australia. Jaffer believes that Samson, who has been out of favour with the Indian team, should be fast-tracked back into the middle-order to replace the injured Shreyas Iyer.
Jaffer sympathized with Yadav’s dismissal by Mitchell Starc and praised the pacer’s skills. However, he also suggested that the Indian team management should consider giving Samson a chance as he has performed well in the past when given opportunities.
In the second ODI, Starc took a five-wicket haul, including dismissing Yadav and Rohit Sharma in the same over, as India were bundled out for 117 runs. Australia comfortably chased the target with 10 wickets to spare, thanks to half-centuries by Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh.
Jaffer termed India’s batting performance as “ordinary” and pointed out that only KL Rahul was dismissed by an exceptional delivery. He also criticized the shot selection of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, adding that the loss was a massive one for India.
India will face Australia in the series decider on Wednesday.
