"Why has Samson not had a steady India career?" - Sunil Gavaskar on Sanju Samson's 'glamorous' shot in RR's IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 loss to SRH

Sunil Gavaskar has noted that Sanju Samson hasn't had a steady India career due to his injudicious shot selection. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper was caught at long-on off Abhishek Sharma's bowling for an 11-ball 10 in his side's IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 loss to the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

SRH set RR a 176-run target after being asked to bat first in Chennai on Friday, May 24. Pat Cummins and company then restricted the inaugural IPL champions to 139/7 to register a 36-run win and book a berth in the final against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the same venue on Sunday, May 26.

Reviewing the game on Star Sports, Gavaskar was asked about his thoughts on Samson and Riyan Parag's dismissals.

"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 responded.

The former India skipper expressed hope that Samson will make the most of his opportunity at the T20 World Cup next month.

"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 said.

Parag (6 off 10) was also caught in the deep off Shahbaz Ahmed's bowling. The duo's dismissals reduced RR to 79/4 after 11.1 overs and they could never recover from there.

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"Was he tired?" - Sunil Gavaskar on Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 42 runs off 21 deliveries. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Sunil Gavaskar was also asked about his views on Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal.

Jaiswal clutched his hamstring after reverse sweeping Shahbaz Ahmed for a six. He was dismissed three deliveries later, hitting the left-arm spinner straight down the long-off fielder's throat.

"There are no questions about his temperament because he has shown in Test matches that he has the temperament and mentality. However, probably the shot selection. Was he tired? It seemed in the last match two days ago as well that he was cramping," he replied.

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that the RR opener's dismissal was a game-changing moment.

"I agree that it is extremely hot. However, we saw there was a slight wind blowing today, and the strategic time-out had just happened where you got the chance to take refreshments and drinks. To play such a shot after that, I feel the situation the Royals ended up in was because of that. If he had stayed for another two-three overs, there wouldn't have been any problem," Gavaskar elaborated.