'Why has Samson not had steady India career?': Gavaskar shows no mercy to RR captain over IPL Qualifier dismissal vs SRH

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Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar lost his cool after the dismissal of Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson during the Qualifier 2 tie of IPL 2024 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday. Samson was dismissed for just 10 runs in Rajasthan's chase of 176, falling to part-time spinner Abhishek Sharma.

Heinrich Klaasen's half-century helped Sunrisers amass 175 for nine in 20 overs against the Royals before the 2016 champions scripted Rajasthan's collapse with the help of spin twins Abhishek and Shahbaz Ahmed, who picked fuve wickets between themselves to restrict the 2008 IPL winners to just 139 for seven.

Speaking to Star Sports after SRH's 36-run win in Chennai, Gavaskar lashed out at Samson for attempting a "glamourous" shot that cost him his wicket.

"What's the use of scoring 500 runs if you can't win your team the match or title? Everyone got out while playing glamorous shots. Why has Samson not had a steady India career? It's because his shot selection has let him down," he said.

The India batting legend, however, urged Samson to show composure in the opportunities he gets during the T20 World Cup tournament, which begins from June 1 onwards. The RR captain has been picked in the Indian squad as a back-up wicketkeeper to Rishabh Pant.

"If his shot selection had been good, his India career too would have been long. I hope that the opportunity he has got in the T20 World Cup, he grabs it with both hands and cements his place," Gavaskar added.

Samson is expected to be part of the second batch of players who will travel to New York for the ICC tournament. Meanwhile, the first batch, comprising captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, are reportedly set to leave for New York on May 25.

India will have their pre-tournament warm-up game on June 1 against Bangladesh in New York before kicking off their campaign on June 5 at the same venue against Ireland.