Amid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Debate, Sunil Gavaskar Sends Big Message To Sanju Samson: "Don't Think He'll Ever Fail"

Sanju Samson silenced his critics in style with a fiery half-century against Afghanistan in the second T20I of the three-match series in Delhi on Tuesday. Samson, who was preferred over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the opening batter, failed to make an impact in the first match, scoring just 10 runs. His inclusion ahead of Sooryavanshi, known for his fearless and explosive stroke play, had sparked questions from fans and experts alike. However, the wicketkeeper-batter answered those doubts emphatically, smashing 57 off 22 balls to help India register a comfortable seven-wicket victory.

With India taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, former captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar said that the more balanced approach Samson adopted in the second T20I would help him maintain consistency over the long term.

"It's sometimes the consistency that you want and because the openers get most of the strike in a 20-over game, they have the most opportunities to score. Sometimes, like today, he played himself in and he started hammering the balls only later. If he keeps on doing that, I don't think he'll ever fail. He'll keep on getting 50s and 60s every time," Gavaskar told the broadcasters.

"It's only when he looks to try and go bang-bang from the first ball, and then you have to do that if you're chasing 190 or 200, then there is no option of doing that. But he's a terrific player," he added.

Not just Gavaskar, former India players Mohit Sharma and Mohammad Kaif also showered praise on Samson following his match-winning knock against Afghanistan.

"The world champions played like world champions. Sanju Samson batted amazingly. At times, we are too quick to judge him. But the way he has batted, debate band kardi (ended the debate)," Mohit told Cricbuzz during a discussion.

Adding to it, Kaif said, "The biggest thing is that Sanju Samson has scored runs."

The third and final T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played on Thursday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

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