Former England captain Kevin Pietersen provided his insights regarding the inconsistency of Indian openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma at the top of the batting order. Following the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India has opted to retain the opening partnership of Samson and Abhishek in the T20 format. Under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian team has embraced a bold batting strategy, which inherently carries a lower likelihood of any individual batter consistently achieving high scores in every match.

Abhishek delivered a crucial performance in the first T20I but struggled to make a significant impact in the subsequent two matches. Meanwhile, Samson recorded a couple of low scores along with a 26 in the opening match of the series.

Pietersen remarked that while an aggressive style of play does not ensure success in every instance, he expressed his support for Samson, noting his commendable track record with this approach.

"I believe that at times, players may find themselves in challenging situations, and that is part of the game. It is essential to take risks at the top of the order, just as Abhishek Sharma and other batters do. There will be instances of both victory and defeat, but more often than not, Samson delivers when it matters," Pietersen stated on Star Sports.

The former English captain praised Samson and expressed his astonishment at the lack of consistent opportunities afforded to him in the past.

"I find him to be mentally strong. I have a great admiration for Sanju Samson as a batter. I truly appreciate his skills. I was quite surprised that he has not been given a more stable role over the past few years. While he certainly can perform at the top of the order, such situations can arise. The dynamics of the shortest format can change rapidly," he concluded.

‘Samson plays the short ball extremely well’

Samson has faced some challenges in the current series regarding his handling of short balls; however, Kevin Pietersen believes there is no issue with his technique and will not question it. 

"If he continues to struggle with this for the next six weeks or a couple of months, then I might consider examining it and questioning his technique. Nevertheless, I regard him as an exceptional player. He handles the short ball very effectively, and I view him as a fundamentally sound player. Therefore, from that perspective, I will not critique his approach to the short ball," he concluded.

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