NZ vs IND 2022: I want Sanju Samson to get all the opportunities – Ravichandran Ashwin

Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin wants Sanju Samson to get all the opportunities in the national team. Samson didn’t get his chance in the T20I series against New Zealand however he was included in the first ODI against the Kiwis at Eden Park, Auckland on Friday.

Samson scored 36 runs from 38 balls while batting at number six and stitched a crucial alliance of 94 runs with Shreyas Iyer after India lost two quick wickets of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav.

Samson has a lot of potential under his belt and he will look to grab his chances. The Kerala batter hasn’t got consistent chances in the national team and the management would want to give him a longer rope.

“For his (Sanju Samson) talent, if he doesn’t play, he will obviously get trended. I want Sanju Samson to get all the opportunities. In fact, I even said that I am looking forward to watching him play since he is in exceptional form at the moment and is playing superbly,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, who led India in the T20I series against New Zealand, was asked why the team didn’t play Sanju Samson in the T20I series against the Kiwis. Ashwin recalled that Pandya answered the question in MS Dhoni’s style.

“He (Samson) is a very exciting player to watch but since we went with a different combination, as of now, we weren’t able to play him, said Hardik Pandya. In fact, the press asked him why he didn’t play Sanju Samson. Hardik Pandya replied in Thala Dhoni style. He said my room door will always be open, any player can come and have a conversation with me. It was very good to see him speak with such clarity l. In fact, I don’t know if he wanted to say that in Thala Dhoni style because we all know Hardik is super close to Thala Dhoni. And he had earlier said that he has learnt a lot from Thala Dhoni. He handled a tricky question that is always trending on social media very beautifully. So kudos to Hardik,” Ashwin said.

India had clinched the T20I series by 1-0 as the third game had ended in a tie on the DLS score.

India posted a decent score of 306 runs in the first ODI against New Zealand after skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer scored half-centuries.