“Wonder how It’ll feel to be Sanju Samson”: Ashwin highlights mental struggles amid constant selection pressure

New Delhi [India], September 15 (ANI): Player of the Tournament at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Sanju Samson has been in the spotlight for his performances, but his international career has also been marked by frequent comings and goings from the Indian team. 
Despite proving his ability on the big stage, Samson has often found himself in and out of the side, raising questions over his place and the consistency of the opportunities he receives.
Throwing his support behind the wicketkeeper-batter, veteran spinner Ashwin believes Samson’s journey has been mentally challenging. 
Ashwin pointed out that after Samson performed brilliantly in the World Cup and did well in Ireland, he was dropped following just one failure in England. 
Such experiences, Ashwin feels, could leave Samson wondering why his position is not understood or trusted. With Samson’s international journey dating back to 2014, Ashwin highlighted the mental battles he may have faced throughout his long and difficult career.
"If you are Samson, won't you feel that you did brilliantly in the World Cup and then in Ireland all the batters struggled. Then he failed one game in England and got dropped. He must be experiencing difficult mental battles and wondering why no one understands his position. His journey hasn't been easy, considering he started in 2014."
After three consecutive failures in T20Is, Samson was dropped from the playing XI in favour of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the second T20I against England in July.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter returned for the series finale but was subsequently left out of the squad for the T20I series in Zimbabwe. Samson was back in the playing XI for the opening T20I against Afghanistan, but could manage only 10 runs off eight deliveries.
Ashwin felt Samson faces constant scrutiny, with his performances often judged inconsistently. He said when Samson succeeds, people claim they always backed him, but when he fails, they quickly label him inconsistent and put more pressure on him. 
Ashwin believes Samson may be caught in comparisons with Sooryavanshi, making his position even more difficult and raising questions about the mental pressure he must be experiencing.
"When he plays well, people give the feeling of saying, 'I told you so that time itself'. Yet, when he fails, they'll say he never plays well and is inconsistent so they put pressure on him. You are never sure if the accusation from people is about Samson failing or about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sitting out because of him playing. You wonder how it'll feel to be Sanju Samson," Ashwin added. (ANI)