Fear of failure. Is that why Sanju Samson failed against New Zealand? Two former Indian spinners believe so. After Samson failed to convert his start in Visakhapatnam, Yuzvendra Chahal stated that Samson had buckled under the pressure. His belief was that after spending more than a decade playing competitive cricket, the fear of failure cannot be something that pulls you down.
Fear of failure
Samson had the golden opportunity to prove this theory wrong at his home ground, Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. If anything, he further established it. Like Chahal before, Ravichandran Ashwin jumped on the ‘failure to handle pressure’ bandwagon.
Ishan Kishan’s exceptional performance meant that Samson could lose the opener and wicketkeeper slot for the T20 World Cup 2026. The theory that pressure was getting to him seemed like the most plausible answer to the question of Samson underperforming.
Technical change leading to downfall
But Aakash Chopra has another theory. He doesn’t discount that Samson might be fearing getting the axe. But in his opinion, the batter from Kerala has developed a major technical flaw. Last year, Jofra Archer had roughed him up. His fast and sharp bouncers cause immense trouble. They forced Samson to change his technique against fast bowlers.
“I think now this is twice in about 12 months. It all started with that England series. Very rarely do you find a top-class batter developing a pattern, especially in the shortest format of the game. He got dismissed five times in the same fashion – short ball caught in the deep. Here also, if you see his dismissals versus pace, there is an eerie pattern to it,” Aakash told ESPNcricinfo.
Samson now shuffles into his crease before the balls are even bowled. This means he’s more vulnerable to fuller balls. If you see his modes of dismissal against New Zealand, not one was a bouncer. While looking to solve one apparent problem, Samson has mistakenly created even more.
“You go deep inside the crease even before the ball is bowled. You try and play the ball, but the front foot doesn’t go anywhere. As a result, your bat actually closes every single time you play. He got lucky with an outside edge once in Thiruvananthapuram. In the previous game again, he closed the bat a bit too early, so again a pattern has developed,” he added.
