‘Sanju Samson’s career has been like an ECG graph rather than a consistent line’: Ayaz Memon

Q/ It seems like India have now figured out how to actually play T20Is after winning the T20 World Cup. We saw what happened in that South Africa series, and we saw the same approach yesterday against England, where India went all guns blazing against that modest total set by England. There was no anchoring as we used to see previously. Of course, India had better bowlers for the conditions. But you would expect that going forward in this series. But, given India's problems in the Test arena, do you think T20 is India's best format right now?

A/ Without a doubt. After the World Cup, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired, but there has been no slackening of the prowess of the team. It has grown exponentially with the influx of some really good, exciting young talent. At this point certainly, there was a great need for young legs and young lungs. After the T20 World Cup, some of the oldies themselves sensed that there are better options now available. And what we've seen is people like Abhishek Sharma coming in and Varun Chakravarthy coming into his own. So much was made of Arshdeep’s selection and the exclusion of Mohammed Siraj, but Arshdeep showed up in the first match. He’s a wicket-taking bowler. He bowls well at the start with the new ball, he bowls well at the death. To answer your question, in the affirmative, I think India's T20 prowess seems to be way ahead of what they've shown in red-ball cricket.

Q/ Arshdeep set up that game for India with this initial spell, and he has now become India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is, which seems to be all of a sudden, but he's done that in far fewer games than his predecessors. And then you saw a new and improved Varun Chakravarthy, who's relying more on over-spin now than side-spin. And the England batters had no clue. So, what did you make of that bowling performance as a whole?

A/ I think the bowling was very impressive. The spotlight was more on Abhishek Sharma for the bravado with which he batted. But remember, the total that India were chasing was quite modest, so it wasn't such a serious challenge for the batters. Though, I must say that Suryakumar Yadav getting dismissed for a blob was a bit of a setback. But I think really, this victory was fashioned by the bowlers. Hardik Pandya was quite expensive in his opening spell, but he came back to pick up a couple of wickets, which shows how good he too is in this format. It started with Arshdeep [who stepped up]; we were actually a fast bowler short. Then Varun and Axar Patel picked up wickets. It was a fantastic performance by the bowlers. The boundaries were pretty short, about 60 yards, which means punishment for the bowlers. But they held their nerve, came back and, Jos Buttler aside, actually flummoxed the rest.

Q/ Talking about the batting, Sanju Samson got off to a good start, but it was all about Abhishek Sharma, who played a Sunrisers innings for India. And props to the young man, and props to team management for allowing him to play in such a manner. Because, even a few months ago, when the Indian team was set something like a 130-140 target, you would expect them to anchor a bit and then get into the chase slowly. But this guy was going from ball one, and that's how he plays, and probably that's how he should be allowed to play. But do you think if he fails a couple of times, he will be asked to mellow down?
A/ I hope not. You want Abhishek Sharma to play the way he sees best, or the way he enjoys himself best, and he obviously has to deliver the results. You cannot just keep making a series of low scores and still expect to be chosen. Don’t forget, there's so much serious competition for all these places. Yashasvi Jaiswal is a candidate for all three formats. Abhishek Sharma, mentored by Yuvraj Singh, has got that spunky approach. He's got that free-flowing swing of the bat. He loves the big shots. We've seen that in the last IPL, when he's playing for Hyderabad, that he can be destructive. He’s got a wide range of strokes, and he’s got a great eye and reflexes. I think he's got the attitude, the aptitude as well as the swag for excelling in this format. I hope he's not held back.

But I wish somebody like a Samson gets going and makes runs, because, you know, one does feel for him. There's unanimity in the belief that he's a terrific player. Now, the only problem that he had throughout his career is that his success has been sporadic. It’s like an ECG graph rather than a consistent line. Right now, players who make an impact get all the attention.

The other person I want to see is Mohammed Shami. He didn't play in Kolkata. There was a bit of a furore as to why he's not been chosen, but I think he'll get a chance sooner rather than later. I also feel that this might not be the best assessment of his fitness or form. Perhaps we'll have to wait till the ODI series, because that's where bowlers like Shami and Bumrah and even to an extent, Siraj, come in because the length of the match also brings in their experience and their calibre.

Q/ What do you expect from the visitors? We saw them roll over last night, but they still have four more matches to go, and conditions are not going to be in their favour.

A/ I think a lot depends on Buttler. He made a half century in the first match, and the rest didn't really add too much. I think somebody like a Gus Atkinson, who's had such a wonderful year for England in virtually all formats, needs to come good, because he can bat and bowl. Jofra Archer is another player who they'll be looking at to come good. Adil Rashid should revel in these conditions. If it's helping the Indian spinners, it should also help Rashid. So, you know, their all-rounders need to come good.

I'm also looking forward to some exciting batting from Harry Brook. He, along with Jaiswal and some others, makes up that crop of young batters enriching the sport.

Q/ And I think credit where credit's due. For all the trouble he's had in the Test matches, Gautam Gambhir is still the coach of this team. If you're going to complain about him in the Test matches, you should give him his flowers here, right?

A/ I think there's too much scrutiny and it's very incessant. So it doesn't allow, whether it's a player or a coach, enough elbow room. I'm not saying that to justify failures, but I think that, for every decision—like if Shami is not taken, then Gambhir is responsible, etc—he is scrutinised. If, despite Shami not being there, India wins, then it's come through some other bowler who Gambhir [picked]. We'll have to wait and see. Give him this whole series, then the ODIs. The tenure for a coach can't be assessed only in six months. We've had a dismal series in Australia, which has accentuated the problems. Whether these problems spill over into white-ball cricket, I’m not sure. We'll have to wait and see.