'Not a bad option to give Samson a chance': Wasim Jaffer drops explosive statement after Suryakumar's flop show vs AUS
After Australia's Mitchell Starc dismissed Suryakumar Yadav for a second straight golden duck in the ODI series, former India opener Wasim Jaffer has backed Sanju Samson to spearhead the middle-order of the Indian side.
Throwing weight behind power-hitter Sanju Samson, former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer has urged the Team India think tank to fast-track the return of the out-of-favour wicketkeeper-batter in the limited-overs format. After Suryakumar Yadav slumped against the Mitchell Starc-inspired Australian side in the 2nd One Day International (ODI) of the bilateral series on Sunday, former India cricketer Jaffer has backed Samson to spearhead India's middle-order in the absence of Shreyas Iyer.
Extending his abysmal run in the Australia series on Sunday, premier batter Suryakumar suffered another setback as he was dismissed for a golden duck by pacer Starc. Dismissing Suryakumar in a similar fashion, pacer Starc had also handed the top-ranked T20I batter a golden duck in the ODI series opener at Mumbai. After sympathizing with Suryakumar following his flop show against Australia, Jaffer extended his support to Samson, who is also waiting in the wings.
"We might sympathize with Suryakumar Yadav as the first ball that he faced was of 145 clicks. No doubt that it's challenging when a left-arm seamer tries to bring the ball back in. Again, he should have anticipated that when Mitchell Starc bowls, he will attack the stumps and might swing the ball. We have to see if the management sticks with him in the third ODI otherwise it's not a bad option to give Sanju Samson a chance because he has played well when given the opportunity and he is a good player," Jaffer told ESPN Cricinfo.
After removing Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar in the same over, Australia's Starc ended up taking a memorable five-wicket haul as Team India folded for 117 in 26 overs. Australian openers Travis Head (51*) and Mitchell Marsh (66*) slammed half-centuries to seal Australia's 10-wicket win over India in the 2nd ODI at Visakhapatnam. Rohit's India will meet Australia in the series decider on Wednesday.
"It was a disappointing performance. The first ODI also saw a collapse, but KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja rescued India. But it wasn't to be in this game. There was a prediction of moisture due to rains; however, it didn't look like it. Except for the one that got KL Rahul, which was a difficult ball as it's not easy to play a ball coming in so fast. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma played poor shots. Suryakumar Yadav also got a good ball. Other than that, it was an ordinary batting performance. I wouldn't say the pitch or bowling got those wickets. Virat Kohli got set and missed a straight delivery. Except for Rahul, no batter perished to an outstanding delivery. So, it's a massive win for Australia," Jaffer added.
