Team India is all set to lock horns with New Zealand for the fourth T20I match on January 28 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
Ahead of the match, Team India`s Sanju Samson, who has been struggling to find himself among the runs, will be expected to deliver a big knock.
Despite poor performances, Team India`s bowling coach Morne Morkel feels that the right-handed batsman is just one knock away from regaining his form.
“Sanju is one knock away from getting that confidence, getting that form back. For us, building up to the World Cup it`s important for the guys to find that peak performance at the right time. He`s training well, he`s hitting the ball very well,” he said.
IND vs NZ T20Is: Sanju Samson`s outings
In the first T20I match against the “Black Caps”, Samson departed after scoring 10 runs in seven balls, including two boundaries. In the second match, he returned to the pavilion after registering six runs off five deliveries, which was laced with a maximum. In the third clash, he was dismissed on a duck on the very first ball of his innings.
Despite it being an optional nets session, Samson spent more than 30 minutes at nets facing various bowlers such as Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Abhishek and side-armer Raghu.
The bowling coach also said that the focus is on the success that the team has tasted in the series. The “Men in Blue” have already sealed the series 3-0 against the “Black Caps”.
“So, I think it`s just a matter of time for him to get his foot on the board. But the main focus is that the team is winning, and I think that`s important. We`re 3-0 up in this series at the moment, the boys are playing some very good cricket,” said Morkel.
He is also optimistic about Samson getting his form back before the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.
“We`ve got a couple of games now before the start of the World Cup, and I have no doubt that Sanju will find his form,” concluded the 41-year-old former cricketer.
Team India will soon engage in the global showpiece, which is scheduled to kick off from February 7.
(With PTI Inputs)
