Sanju Samson would be disappointed looking back at series against Sri Lanka: Rahul Dravid

The third T20I between India and Sri Lanka saw the visitors ending their batting show in an embarrassing manner where 81 runs were put on the board in total. The entire top and middle-order of the men in blue were blown up by the Lankan bowling attack led by Wanindu Hasaranga. In the same light, head coach Rahul Dravid opened up in the post-match presser and talked about how Sanju Samson would be disappointed looking back at the SL series.

It is a known fact that at one point in time, Samson appeared as a bright young talent who could have shined at the international level as well. After making a mark for Kerala and playing IPL, he was given the chance for India but nothing great has come so far from him. Samson has now failed in nine consecutive T20I matches since last year and these are not good signs for the wicketkeeping batsman.

“It was not the easiest pitch to bat on. In ODIs, he got a chance and scored 46. He was batting well in the first T20 but the last couple of wickets (pitches) were challenging. I guess yeah, if you look back at the series, we will be a little disappointed. Having said that not only Sanju but a lot of young guys in this team are talented kids, and we need to be patient with them,” said Dravid in defense of Samson.

Sanju Samson collects 34 runs from three T20Is

In one match of the ODI series, Samson came up with 46 runs but he could merely collect 34 runs out of the three T20Is against SL. Since Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19, all the members who were in close contact with him were kept in isolation. A depleted side took the field in the last two T20Is and tried to be competitive but lost the series 1-2. Dravid was even asked if he is disappointed with how young batters like Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad performed.

“I am not disappointed as they are young. They are going to learn and get better only when they are exposed to these kind of conditions and quality of bowling. Sri Lankan team’s bowling attack is an international bowling attack,” quoted Dravid.