Sanju Samson vs Rishabh Pant: Who deserves to be on the flight to Australia? My pick!

On a popular podcast show hosted by Ranveer Allahadia, I heard BCCI President Sourav Ganguly state that if 'talent does not meet opportunity,' an individual's ability is meaningless. In all likelihood, the remark refers to Indian wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson, whose removal from the T20 World Cup has sparked outrage on social media. The national selectors, head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma, having all been in the firing line, endure criticism and vitriol from Samson supporters.

In the midst of all of this, a message from Sanju Samson not only captured the hearts of his supporters but also demonstrated how much he loves cricket and how much his heart beats for the betterment of Indian cricket.

"These days, in media and on social media, there are talks that who will Sanju replace in the Indian playing XI. Will you replace Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul? My thinking is very clear that both KL and Pant play for my own team. If I compete with my own teammates, then I'm letting my country down," said Samson on a YouTube channel.

After being left out of the Indian World T20 squad, Samson not only received support from former Indian and international cricketers, as well as former head coach Ravi Shastri, who dubbed him the X-factor in Australian conditions, but his patience and composure were remarkable. The disappointment of not being able to represent his country would most likely remain, but his professionalism deserves a standing ovation.

Whom could Samson have replaced?

It is most likely Rishabh Pant, who has been under fire recently for his poor performance in the Asia Cup in Dubai. The social media was ablaze with comparisons of these two very skilled cricketers' batting performances over the last year or so. Let's dig deeper into this and see if we can figure out whether Samson was unlucky or if the noise around him was only a hollow one.

What works in Sanju Samson's favour?

Perhaps the current form. Samson helped the Rajasthan Royals to their first IPL final since 2008. With the bat, the right-hander batted 146.79 and scored 458 runs in 17 innings. On his day, Samson has the power to take the opposing bowler to the cleaners, and the opposing captains can do nothing but stand and applaud the Kerala-born batsman.

Sanju has appeared in seven matches for Team India this year, scoring 179 runs at an average of 44.75 and a strike rate of 158.40. The opponents were Sri Lanka, Ireland, and the West Indies.

What goes against Sanju Samson?

Team dynamics seem to be the answer. Sanju bats in the top three in the IPL. This provides him with the potential to rack up a large score. If an early wicket falls, Sanju has all the shots he needs to score quickly and at a high strike rate. He does the same thing for Team India: he opens the innings and takes the game away from the opposition in the first six overs. That is the function that the team management has assigned to him.

Given the composition of Team India, do they really need a backup opener?

Indian Captain Rohit Sharma delivered the decision at a press conference ahead of the T20 series against Australia, which begins on Tuesday at home.

"I have had a chat with Rahul Dravid, that we will have to open with Virat in some matches because he is our third opener. KL Rahul, according to me, will play the World Cup, and open," Rohit said.

The verdict has been delivered directly from the horse's mouth. India does not need a third opener, with Kohli set to come in if needed during the T20 World Cup.

In that case, what is Sanju Samson's next best batting position?

With the top four secured in the form of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav, with Hardik Pandya or Dinesh Karthik to follow as finishers, the sole vacancy is at number five, where Rishabh Pant currently bats.

Samson has only batted in this position once for India, scoring an unbroken 30 against the West Indies in August. Can Team India risk having a batter of Sanju's calibre accomplish the job while having little or no experience? Consider this.

When it comes to Rishabh Pant, the situation is quite different.

What gives Rishabh Pant the edge?

Rishabh Pant's unique selling point is that he bats left-handed. Right-handers bat first through seventh in Team India's batting order. If you want, you can count them. The team's think tank moved Ravindra Jadeja to number 4 in the group-stage game against Pakistan, and the choice paid off handsomely.

Another reason for having Pant at number 5 is to allow him to go big against pacers and spinners once he has his eye in. Furthermore, Pant has experience batting at the number 4 and number 5 positions in 41 matches, giving the team management the flexibility to promote him up the order if necessary during the World Cup. Pant's strike rate may be little higher than 125, but with his striking talents, he can turn the game on its head in a matter of deliveries. That's exactly what you want from a number 5 batter. From Rishabh Pant's bat, the team's think tank would prefer a quickfire knock on a consistent basis rather than a high score at a poor strike rate.

The final verdict

Sanju Samson is an outstanding cricket ball striker with all the shots in the book. Given the present squad composition, he is neither a middle-order batsman nor a finisher.

Rishabh Pant can consider himself fortunate to be on the plane to Australia, but he also understands that failure at the ICC event will provide plenty material for his critics, who will be calling for his head if the Blues fail to take the title Down Under.

The problem of plenty in Indian cricket would always leave someone unhappy with their selection. After all, there is only one spot in the national team for 15 players, and every cricketer wants to play for the country for as long as possible. Sanju Samson deserves credit for using his non-selection for the T20 World Cup as motivation to perform even better, score a big number of runs, and push the selectors to pick him for the national side. His career is far from over, and perhaps this is just the push he needs to achieve remarkable consistency levels and solidify his spot on the national team in the coming years.

Also Read: What to do with Rishabh Pant in T20Is?

(The author is an expert in cricket and has worked as a sports writer for broadcast and multimedia platforms for nearly a decade.)