India's star batter set to miss the last two T20Is against Sri Lanka- Reports

In a big blow to the team India’s ambitions, Sanju Samson is likely to miss the remaining two matches in the ongoing third-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.

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As per reports, Samson suffered a niggle on his knee during the first T20 match on Tuesday and, because of that, he won’t be playing the remaining two matches in the series. It has been understood that Samson hasn’t travelled with the Indian team to Pune for the second T20I.

The Indian cricketer didn’t have a great outing with the bat in the first match in Mumbai. He got out after just five 5 runs in 6 balls. Samson miscued a slog off Dhananjaya de Silva and the ball went straight into the hands of the fielder.

In the second innings, Samson looked sloppy on the field. He made a mess of a simple catch in the powerplay and also hurt his knee in the process. But, despite that, he kept fielding. It was, later, that he started experiencing swelling and was asked to seek medical advice. Due to the niggle, Samson has been asked to stay back in Mumbai for scans.

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India, meanwhile, won the first T20I by 2 runs and took 1-0 lead in the series. After being asked to bat first, India managed to score 162 runs in the first innings. In reply, Sri Lanka fell 2 runs short of the target.

Following the first game, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar criticized Sanju Samson for his poor shot selection.

“He is such a fine player. Sanju Samson has so much of talent but his shot selection sometimes lets him down. And this is one more occasion where it has disappointed.”

The second T20 international is slated to be played on Thursday at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.