Ravichandran Ashwin addressed the topic of Sanju Samson’s lack of opportunities.
During the series against New Zealand, concerns arose over Sanju Samson being benched despite his good form.
Ravichandran Ashwin on Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson had a fantastic IPL 2022 season with the bat, but he never received a fair shot in the Indian team since Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik were chosen over him. As a result, the Kerala-born cricketer didn’t make the T20 World Cup roster. His most recent absence from the starting XI for the T20I series against New Zealand has garnered media attention. Samson is now in outstanding form, and Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has stated that he is anxious to watch him play in every game.
“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.

Ashwin also discussed Hardik Pandya’s captaincy, specifically noting his satisfaction with the way Pandya handled the Sanju Samson situation.
“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,” he said.
“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,” he added.

Meanwhile, Samson played in the 1st ODI against New Zealand at Eden Park. Samson scored 36 off 38 balls.