{
  "id": 17773498,
  "title": "Ashwin shuts down Sanju Samson critic with savage reply",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/ashwin-shuts-down-sanju-samson-critic-with-savage-reply",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-02T09:02:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/sport/cricket/ashwin-shuts-down-sanju-samson-critic-with-savage-reply-1.500732531"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin defended Sanju Samson after social media users questioned his continued support for the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter during a disappointing five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Samson scored just 107 runs over the five games, despite starting the series with a brilliant 67. His poor performances prompted criticism on social media, but Ashwin's response was quite telling. A cricket fan tagged Ashwin on X and wrote, \"Hello Ashwin, your first choice Sanju flopped throughout the entire series,\" including an image highlighting Samson's 107 runs from the five matches. Ashwin responded quickly, \"Sanju is my first choice, he's your full-time obsession.\" Clearly, Ashwin wasn't changing his opinion simply because Samson had endured a difficult series.",
  "summary": "Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come to Sanju Samson's defence after a fan questioned his continued support for the Kerala wicketkeeper batter. Samson endured a disappointing five match T20I series against New Zealand, scoring just 107 runs despite starting with a brilliant 67 in the opening game. His poor performances prompted criticism on social media, but Ashwin had a rather…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}