'Same ball, same field, same shot, same mistake, same dismissal' - R Ashwin wants Suryakumar, Sanju to come back with better plans

Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson struggled with the bat during India's recently-concluded five-match T20I series against England. Ravichandran Ashwin urged the two Indian cricketers to come out with better plans the next time they put on India's jersey.

Suryakumar led India to a 4-1 win in the series. However, his performance with the bat was underwhelming as he only scored 28 runs from five innings. Meanwhile, Sanju failed to replicate the form he showed in the latter half of 2024, as he managed just 51 runs from five innings against the Three Lions.

Ashwin praised Suryakumar's leadership ability but he also highlighted the pattern in which the Mumbai batter got dismissed during the series. The former India off-spinner pointed out that Sanju's dismissals also followed a pattern.

“The problem though, however, is Suryakumar’s batting. Of course, his captaincy has been really good in this series. But he can allow his batting some much-needed breathing space. Sanju Samson and SKY getting out to the same ball, same field, same shot, same mistake, same dismissal,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.

“I can understand it happening in 1-2 games, but this is not uncanny anymore. Players should play with freedom, but our batters need to have better answers to the same question. Suryakumar Yadav is a very experienced guy. One could say he was at the forefront of a change of guard of sorts. But it is time he changed his approach to his batting,” Ashwin added.

Also Read: Reports: Sanju Samson ruled out of cricket for at least five-six weeks

Ashwin lauded Abhishek Sharma after the Punjab batter smashed the second-fastest century by an Indian player in T20I cricket during the fifth T20I at the Wankhede Stadium last week.

“This is a problem of plenty, not embarrassment of many. Why are we embarrassed when we have the riches? Let’s use terms that best exemplify our bench. Of course, Jaiswal has a place in this team, but this innings by Abhishek Sharma would train all eyes on him. He’s such a pretty-looking batsman who makes cricket look so easy on the eye. It will be tough to take our eyes off him,” Ashwin stated.