As the Indian team arrived at Thiruvanthapuram for the 5th T20I match against New Zealand. During the exit from the Airport to the Bus, there was plenty of fans waiting for Sanju Samson and Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav went ahead of him clearing the path and asking people to move out of the way. The video released by BCCI shows, Suryakumar in a playful mood clearing the way for Samson at the airport “Get out of the way. Move aside. Make way, please. Don’t disturb Chetta,” Surya said as he Sanju Samson's arrival gave a VIP look as he made his way outside the Airport.
Suryakumar Yadav continued to say “No, no, no photos,” before turning to Samson and saying, “Landing in God’s own country.” For which Sanju Samson with a smile replied, “Feeling great, feels always great, but this time it is very special,” reflecting the emotional significance of featuring in an international match at his home ground. Watch the full video here.
This is the first time Sanju Samson will be playing at his home ground. Samson since T20I debut almost 11 years ago has never played at his home ground. He has played 55 T20Is and managed 1048 runs at a strike-rate of 147 plus with three fifties and three hundreds. However his current form has not been good and there is plenty of pressure on him leading up to the World Cup.
Sanju Samson’s poor form continued in the 4th T20I in Vizag against New Zealand. He was dismissed for 24 runs of 15 balls and yet again failed to perform. Before the New Zealand T20I series, Shubman Gill was dropped from the T20 World Cup squad, and Samson came back to his role as an opener. However, the first four T20Is against the Kiwis have seen scores of 10, 6, 0 and 24 for Samson. He has not been able to perform at his best in this series and his record overall since the last year has been not so good and this 5th T20I is very important for him.
Sanju Samson has been getting support of the team management but given his lack of runs the pressure will be high on him to perform. Ishan Kishan has been in great form. So once the World Cup starts Ishan Kishan will compete directly with Samson for opener and keeping spot. The fifth T20I will be played at Thiruvanthapuram which is the home ground for Samson and it is very crucial for Samson to perform and retain his place and he will be hoping that the crowd support will bring him some fortune.
