‘Samson has to wait’: Dhawan supports picking Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson in third ODI against NZ

Team India picked Pant in the third and final ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday. But the out-of-form Pant left-handed batsman failed again. Pant got out for at 10 as India scored just 219 in the final ODI.

Recently there has been a big debate over selection of Pant over Sanju Samson due to Pant’s recent bad performances. Pant is going through a difficult time in his career. He has scored 10, 15, 11, 6, 6, 3, 9, 9 and 27 in his last nine innings of the limited over format. On the other hand, Samson shone with the limited opportunities he got with the bat, moreover, he also scored 36 off 38 balls in the first ODI match.

But Dhawan backed Pant saying that Pant is a match winner.
“Overall you have to see the larger picture and who is your match winner. You analyse and your decisions are based on that,” Dhawan said in a post-match press conference.

Dhawan said it’s “not difficult” to be in the captain’s shoes while making tricky choices, such as picking Pant over Samson.

“Of course, Sanju Samson has been doing really well in whatever opportunity he got.

“But sometimes you got to wait for your chances, because the other player has done well and we know based on his (Pant’s) skill that he’s a match-winner. So you need to back him when he’s not doing well.”

Williamson not surprised
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson also said it’s a challenge to play a team like India, which is blessed with so much talent.

“The Indian team and the country is blessed with so much talent that sometimes you are faced with challenges that you have to weigh out different options,” Williamson said.

“It’s sometimes tough, it’s a challenge, but one of those things. As a leader you are part of some decision-making, you try to move forward as a collective unit.”