'Why no one understands his position': Ashwin has one big question about Sanju Samson’s India future

Sanju Samson’s international career has been a story of immense talent, flashes of brilliance and repeated uncertainty over his place in the Indian team. Even after delivering on some of the biggest stages, the wicketkeeper-batter has often found himself moving in and out of the side.That pattern has now drawn strong support from former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who believes Samson’s prolonged struggle for a consistent place could be taking a significant mental toll.Ashwin points to Samson’s difficult journeyAshwin feels Samson’s career has been particularly challenging because of the way opportunities have come and gone over the years. The Kerala batter made his international debut back in 2014, but has never managed to establish himself as a permanent fixture across formats. According to Ashwin, even strong performances have not always guaranteed Samson an extended run.“If you are Samson, won't you feel that you did brilliantly in the World Cup and then in Ireland all the batters struggled. Then he failed one game in England and got dropped, he must be experiencing difficult mental battles and wondering why no one understands his position. His journey hasn't been easy, considering he started in 2014,” Ashwin said.From World Cup heroics to being droppedSamson’s situation became particularly striking after his performances at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Tournament.He also impressed during India’s tour of Ireland, but his run in the team soon came under pressure. After three successive failures in T20Is, Samson was left out of the playing XI for the second T20I against England in July, with young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi preferred instead.Samson returned for the final game of that series but was then omitted from India’s T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tour. His next opportunity came against Afghanistan, where he returned to the XI for the opening T20I. However, he could score only 10 runs from eight deliveries, once again leaving his position open to scrutiny.'You are never sure' where the pressure comes fromAshwin believes Samson may be caught in comparisons with Sooryavanshi, making his position even more difficult and raising questions about the mental pressure he must be experiencing."When he plays well, people give the feeling of saying, 'I told you so that time itself'. Yet, when he fails, they'll say he never plays well and is inconsistent so they put pressure on him. You are never sure if the accusation from people is about Samson failing or about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sitting out because of him playing. You wonder how it'll feel to be Sanju Samson," Ashwin added.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.