Sanju Samson has had a fruitful T20 World Cup 2026 and Indian Premier League seasons for the Chennai Super Kings, but his form in Indian colours has been poor after that, with three low scores in a row. Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan pointed out a technical flaw in Samson’s game, saying that if the ball is bowled outside the off-stump, there is a chance of dismissing the Kerala batter.“You want to take the ball away from Sanju Samson. Even if you don’t take the ball away, you want to keep the line outside the off-stump because his bat face remains closed. When his bat face is closed and he tries to play on the off-side, the bat face opens up at times,” Pathan said on Jiohotstar.In the first T20I against Ireland, Samson tried to drive the ball on the up through the covers and inside-edged it onto the stumps; in the second game, he was beaten by a delivery that came back. In the first game against England, a similar pattern was seen again when he flapped his bat at a delivery outside the off-stump and was caught inside the ring by the third man.“That’s why we have seen him getting out in the slips, caught behind, and behind square many times. The thought process was to get him out with that plan. The field was changed, the bowler bowled that line, a slightly shorter length was bowled, where the ball was stopping a little, and Sanju got out there,” Pathan elaboratedAnother former cricketer, Saba Karim, also chimed in, saying Samson tends to go through streaks of low and high scores.“He got out to the seventh ball. On the six balls he had played before this, it seemed like either a big shot or a wicket was loading, and such phases come in Sanju’s career. If his wicket falls, it falls in the first 10 balls. If he comes out from that, he plays a very big knock. The length they bowled kept Sanju in check. He didn’t get the elevation or room to play shots,” the former India wicketkeeper-batter said.“His go-to shot against seam bowlers is to hit over the infield. The England pace bowlers prevented that, and that’s why a little pressure was mounting on Sanju. This situation has come in Sanju Samson’s career many times. However, I expect that he will come out of here and play a big knock for sure,” he added.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:India cricket teamSanju Samson