'Already has three hundreds' - Former India head coach questions why Sanju Samson is not a regular part of T20I XI

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri did not mince his words while questioning Sanju Samson's prolonged absence from India's T20I XI. Samson made a long-awaited comeback into the T20I setup by replacing the injured Shubman Gill at the top of the order in the fifth T20I of the series against South Africa.

Shastri opined that a player of Samson's caliber should be a regular member in the T20I XI. He also complimented Samson's track record as opener and noted down the wicketkeeper-batter's strengths during his 22-ball 37-run knock.

"Why is he not in the side in the first place? When you see him play like this, you can't help but wonder why it took an injury to bring him in. He is a natural fit at the top of the order. He already has three hundreds in T20 cricket, including two back-to-back hundreds against South Africa. He is explosive, dangerous and capable of shots like these. Where do you even bowl to him?" shared Shastri while commentating during the match.

Samson, who was appearing for India for the first time since the Australia tour, looked in fine nick during his time in the middle. His enterprising innings comprised four fours and two sixes. The 31-year-old made the most of the powerplay while batting along with Abhishek Sharma.

The Men in Blue ended up posting 231/5 after being invited to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium on December 19. The total was largely due to the contributions of Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, who stuck together a 105-run stand off just 44 deliveries for the fourth wicket.

South Africa started off well during their chase and were top after the powerplay. However, India struck with regular wickets after the 10th over to completely derail the second innings. The visitors ended up on 201/8, losing the contest and the series by 30 runs and a 3-1 scoreline, respectively. With this, the all-format series finally came to an end.