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Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has backed the Indian opening batter Sanju Samson to do well in the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand, scheduled to be played on Saturday, January 31, in his hometown Thiruvananthapuram.
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Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Kotak believes there is little cause for concern with respect to Sanju Samson as the team management has been maintaining full faith in the batter’s ability.
“Sanju is Sanju. Okay, probably he has not scored as many runs as everybody would have liked, but that’s part of the game. Sometimes you have five innings in a row when you score heavily, and sometimes you don’t,” Kotak said at the pre-match press conference.
“So it’s all down to the individual and how he keeps his mind strong, and obviously our job is to keep him in a good frame of mind and make sure he practises and works hard. We all know what Sanju is capable of, so I don’t think there’s anything more to say about Sanju, because he’s been really good,” he added.
Interestingly, Samson could score only 24 runs in the fourth T20I as he lost his wicket to the opposition skipper, Mitchell Santner, as India suffered a 50-run defeat. Unfortunately, in his last five T20I innings, Samson’s highest score was only 37 runs against South Africa in December 2025.
On the other hand, in the ongoing New Zealand series, he has managed just 40 runs across four innings, while Ishan Kishan has continued to dominate at No. 3 in Tilak Varma’s absence. Since 2025, Samson’s returns as an opening batter have been a cause for concern. He managed to score only 128 runs from ten innings at an average of 12.8, with a top score of 37.
India will lock horns with New Zealand in the fifth and final T20I against the BlackCaps in Thiruvananthapuram.
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