Sanju Samson 'doesn’t help his own cause': Sanjay Manjrekar says it as it is amid tough competition from Sooryavanshi

Given the starting opportunity, the 31-year-old Samson could not capitalize during a 157-run pursuit, gathering just 10 runs off eight deliveries with two boundaries before miscuing an Azmatullah Omarzai short ball to deep square leg in the third over. While commentating alongside Murali Kartik, former international batter Sanjay Manjrekar criticized Samson's inability to establish himself, observing that his chronic inconsistency harms his own standing.

Samson had earlier secured Player of the Tournament honors at the T20 World Cup through pivotal knocks against the West Indies in the Super 8 stage, England in the semifinals, and New Zealand in the final, but subsequent low outputs across two matches with Ireland and one versus England had temporarily seen him benched in favor of Sooryavanshi during their tour of the UK before regaining his spot for the fifth clash.

In the match itself, Afghanistan reached 156 for 8 across their 20 overs, anchored by an undefeated 64 from Omarzai, as Arshdeep Singh paced the Indian attack by claiming three wickets. India breezed through the remainder of the target to secure victory with 38 deliveries remaining, spearheaded by Abhishek Sharma's 82 alongside a 42-run contribution from Ishan Kishan.

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