Drop Tilak. Bring back Sanju Samson? Ex-coach warns India after 3rd T20I surrender

Abhishek Nayar has advised India not to reshuffle the XI merely to recall Sanju Samson after the third T20I loss in Nottingham. He said Samson should return only in the top three as India reflect on form and conditions.

In Short

• Samson has found greater T20 success only while batting in top three
• His average slips sharply when moved to No. 4 and No. 5
• Tilak has crossed 20 just once in six innings on the T20I tour of the UK

Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has warned the team management not to fiddle with the team combination just to bring Sanju Samson back into the playing XI. Nayar stated that Samson should be recalled only if the team can fit him into the top three, warning that a middle-order return might not yield the desired results.

Nayar’s comments came when a broadcaster asked if India should consider dropping Tilak Varma from the XI to accommodate Samson in a middle-order role after India slipped to their worst-ever defeat, losing to England by 125 runs in the third match of the ongoing five-game series.

The Chennai Super Kings batter was dropped for the second T20I in Manchester to accommodate Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top of the order. Having managed only six runs across three T20Is—including two matches against Ireland which India lost—Samson was left out just months after winning the Player of the Tournament award at the T20 World Cup.

"I really feel that if you have to get Sanju Samson back in, you want to position him in a place where he can succeed. Now, just because you want to bring him in, you're going to bat him at No. 4, 5 or 6. It's not something he's done a lot. It's not something he's been successful at," Nayar said.

"He's been best suited when he's opened or batted in the top three. So if you aren't giving him that position, then I feel it's better that you don't play Sanju Samson and instead stick with the kind of batting line-up India has."

Samson has predominantly operated in the top three in T20 cricket. His average in the top three stands above 30, but it drops to 22.63 at No. 4, where he has batted in 65 innings. At No. 5, a position he has occupied only 14 times, that average plummets to 15.33.

PRESSURE ON TILAK VARMA?

Tilak, who was appointed vice-captain to newly anointed skipper Shreyas Iyer post the T20 World Cup, has struggled during the ongoing tour of the UK. Barring a well-paced 45-ball 56, the left-hander has failed to cross 20 in any of his other five knocks on tour. On Tuesday, Tilak was out for a sluggish 3 off 11 balls, stumped off the bowling of off-spinner Will Jacks.

However, Tilak has also been playing out of position since midway through the T20 World Cup. Naturally a No. 3 batter, the Hyderabad star was pushed down the order to accommodate Ishan Kishan at the top.

Nayar insisted it is crucial for the team management not to press the panic button, arguing that the primary issue has been a failure to properly assess conditions in Ireland and England, which have been in stark contrast to the pitches seen during the IPL earlier this year.

"They'll have to reflect on it. Like Gautam Gambhir said, they've got 190 in two innings, but that is batting first. They struggled chasing because they haven't assessed conditions enough. They haven't found the right tempo to score runs," Nayar added.

"You don't want to press the panic button. You don't want to make changes for the sake of it. If Sanju Samson has to come in, that's all the management has to do: position him in a place where he can succeed."

Head coach Gautam Gambhir, speaking after India’s hammering in Nottingham, also conceded that the visitors have not been good enough at reading the pitches and conditions during their UK tour.

"fWe haven't adapted well. Whether it was in Ireland or here in England, that has been the reality. Had we adapted better and played better cricket, we wouldn't have lost four matches in a row," he said.

- Ends