What’s wrong with Sanju Samson? The answer is in his feet

Batsmen don’t show their cards, they wait for bowlers to show their hand first. They stick to their shape, don’t move around too often in the crease. Professionals learn from mistakes, they don’t keep repeating them like amateurs. Sanju Samson, these days, does everything that a seasoned international batsman is not supposed to do. The out-of-form and low on confidence opener’s nervousness about his place in the side can be seen from his foot work. Before the bowler releases the ball, his right-foot takes a tiny back-step and the left too follows. The ploy that finishers fall back on to hoodwink and second guess the death-over bowlers are being used by Sanju, the opener. And the results haven’t been great. In an attempt to get that extra microsecond to launch his big shots, or too afraid to go to the front foot, Sanju pre-meditates and takes a step back. Mind too muddled to take the right decision instinctively, he goes to the field with pre-conceived plans. This ploy might work against lesser bowlers and that also not for too long as it was seen against Namibia’s not-quite-world class bowling department at Kotla in India’s second game of the T20 World Cup. ALSO READ | 8 balls, 3 sixes, 1 four: Sanju Samson’s blazing T20 World Cup debut ends in second over during India vs Namibia match The Kerala batsman seemed to be aware of the problem. On the first ball he faced, he took a tiny step forward. There seemed to be a conscious effort not to go back. The next two balls, he struggled. He missed an easy punch to cover and failed to connect a flick off a ball on the legs. So now he thought of staying in the crease. That worked. Sanju would be still and he would loft a good length ball straight for a six. Had he ironed out his flaw? Not really. The next over showed he did what he has been doing of late. He went back before the ball was released. It worked for a bit. He hit three sixes – two over the fine leg and later an uppish stroke over cover to a ball on the off. Each of the sixes were hit from behind the line of the crease. And then he overdid it. Next, to a shortish slower ball, he was again on the back foot. Away from the ball, his not-here-nor-there shot would land in the mid-wicket’s hands. Sanju has taken too many back-steps and seemed to be disappearing to the margins. Sanju, by not standing still, but moving backwards, is forcing himself into a corner, leaving him with little wriggle room. His 8-ball 22 that had 3 sixes which was a case study in what not to do.Story continues below this ad In his last few innings for India, Sanju has developed a habit of moving around in the crease much before he needs to. It is this flaw that has seen him lose form and also his place in the side. It was only because of Abhishekh Sharma’s health scare and subsequent hospitalisation that Sanju got a second chance.

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