'Support can fade quickly': Sanju Samson warned after Melbourne T20I flopshow

India’s batting collapse in the second T20I against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has triggered a wave of criticism, with former all-rounder Irfan Pathan voicing strong concerns about the team’s tactics and player roles. After being bundled out for just 125, questions have surfaced about India’s approach and the frequent changes to their batting order. The decision to push Sanju Samson up to number three once again became a talking point, especially after earlier indications that the wicketkeeper-batter was being groomed for a middle-order role.

Pathan, analysing the defeat on his YouTube channel, felt India’s constant tinkering was doing more harm than good. He emphasised that Suryakumar Yadav should be locked in at number three rather than being moved around. “As for Sanju Samson, if he keeps moving up and down the batting order like this, I’m not sure how effective that will be,” Pathan said. “I know that in T20 cricket, apart from the openers, no one really has a fixed position and flexibility is important. But in the name of flexibility, you shouldn’t become so elastic that you lose the stability that comes with having defined roles. That’s something the Indian team really needs to pay attention to.

” Pathan also pointed out India’s experiment with Shivam Dube’s batting position, which saw him come in after Harshit Rana, a move that backfired as Dube fell cheaply after facing just two deliveries. “When you keep changing a player’s role repeatedly, things naturally change. Playing against the older ball in the middle overs, which Sanju Samson did during the Asia Cup, is very different from opening the innings, where he had scored three centuries,” Pathan explained.

“It requires a different mindset and a lot of mental strength, along with strong backing from the team.” The former all-rounder also issued a cautionary note to Samson, urging him to produce meaningful scores soon to secure his place. “There’s no doubt he’s getting the support he needs. But that support can fade quickly if a player has three or four failures in a row. Hopefully, that won’t happen with Sanju Samson,” Pathan concluded.