Sanju Samson’s inconsistent performances with the bat has already attracted a lot of attention in the current series against New Zealand and former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has attributed it to his playing under a lot of pressure with a clouded mind.

“If you are not a good player, you cannot reach here. When your mind is clouded with a lot of thoughts, it gets tough to pick the lengths and lines. I am very certain things are going on in his mind,” he said on his YouTube channel.

“We cannot make a slot for a player. It is not about running with a player and banking on it. It is also important to tell the player to take a break. Sometimes sitting outside and reflecting can make you a better player. I don’t agree that he should go back to the middle order. You cannot make a slot for a player... then everybody else will also rotate around it.”

Ashwin also pointed to some technical frailties in Samson’s batting.

“They are bowling on the middle and leg to Sanju because he does not have a back-and-across movement. It is really getting to a point that it is pushing players. He has been pushed to a place where he has to show the bowlers something else. He is trying to do something because he is uncomfortable with the plan being dealt out to him.

“He has been pushed into a corner but is willing to try. He is trying to respond. Maybe you will not get the result immediately. This might take time, but he is at least thinking about how to put pressure on the bowlers. That is a good sign. But he is walking a fine line, and there is pressure with Ishan sitting in the dugout.”

Another former spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was more critical in his assessment.

“Sanju Samson has played for many years... He has had four chances in this series. I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four. He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at No. 3, is waiting. Sanju will blame himself. He had four opportunities but could not make them count,” Chahal said on JioHotstar.

Despite his criticism, Chahal advised against knee-jerk reactions against Samson since the World Cup in only a week away.