The Indian wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson hasn’t set the stage alight in the Team India jersey during the tour of West Indies. In the ongoing T20I matches against the Men in Maroon, the 28-year-old has put together only 19 runs in two innings, which is far from ideal for Team India, who are down 0-2 in the five-match series.
Notably, during the ODI series on the Caribbean tour, Sanju Samson did play an enterprising innings of 51 in the third match, after scoring just nine runs in the innings prior. Also, he achieved his fifty when Team India already were on their way to notching up a 350-plus total.
Also Read: Three Indian players who might be dropped from T20Is after West Indies and Ireland series
During his career, the right-handed batter has gotten a lot of opportunities to make a big mark on the Indian team, especially in the T20I format, but he hasn’t been able to achieve top results. This has meant that many other players vying for a place in the national setup, have to wait for a chance to showcase their true potential in the Indian colours.
With that, SportsTiger looks at three Indian players who haven’t got as many opportunities as Sanju Samson:
1. Rahul Tripathi
Rahul Tripathi, who made his international debut in the T20I format against Sri Lanka this January, has played only five matches for Team India since then. In his limited opportunities at the top level, the 32-year-old was able to amass just 97 runs, but at an impressive strike-rate in the 140s.
The Ranchi-born cricketer has already proven his credentials at the IPL many times, since making his debut for Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. In his six-year career at the franchise level, Rahul Tripathi has scored 2071 runs in 87 matches at the strike of nearly 140, with 11 half centuries.
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2. Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer started his international career against New Zealand in the shortest format of the game, days after India’s disastrous campaign in the T20 World Cup 2021. With just nine matches in the T20Is, he scored 133 runs at a top-notch average over 30 and strike-rate over 160, along with picking up five wickets with the ball.
The 28-year-old also played a couple of ODIs for Team India against South Africa, which is far less of a sample size to judge his credentials in the format. In his two-year stint in the IPL, Venkatesh Iyer has participated in 36 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 956 runs at a strike-rate over 130, with a hundred and seven fifties.
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3. T Natarajan
T Natarajan, who made his international debut in all formats of cricket during India’s tour to Australia in 2020-21 series, delivered reasonable performances with the ball against a quality opponent. After making his last appearance at the top level against England in ODIs in 2021, he was sidelined from the national setup due to injuries, and since then, he hasn’t made his return in Indian colours.
The 32-year-old, hailed as the death bowling specialist in limited overs cricket, has been a consistent performer at the franchise level, has picked up 48 wickets in 47 matches in the IPL. Although he hasn’t played regular cricket in the league in recent seasons, he does stake a claim to be in the Indian team whenever fit.
