Sanju Samson admits outside noise hurts, backs leadership group

Sanju Samson smashed 57 off 22 balls in the second T20I against Afghanistan in New Delhi on Tuesday, powering India to a seven-wicket win and an unassailable 2-0 series lead. But his post-match press conference drew more attention than his batting. The India wicketkeeper-batter admitted that the intense scrutiny and selection debates surrounding his place in the team do affect him. "I feel a little bad. I am not a machine," he said. He said he tries to "turn off the Wi-Fi" but sometimes comments get through.

Samson, 31, is competing for an opening slot with Abhishek Sharma and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who scored 700-800 runs in a recent series. Samson said he understood when he was dropped for Sooryavanshi after his own failures. "It was very understandable from a leadership point of view," he said. The wicketkeeper-batter credited head coach Gautam Gambhir and the leadership group for communicating tough selection calls. "It is not easy to take hard decisions," he said. The third T20I against Afghanistan is on 19 September.