Thiruvananthapuram T20I is a dead rubber, ok. But not for Sanju Samson

There's a large hoarding of Sanju Samson hoisting a six, on the edge of the main link road to the Greenfield Stadium at Karyavattom in Thiruvananthapuram. More cutouts and banners were being readied on the eve of the fifth and final T20I between India and New Zealand on Friday.

As far as the series is concerned, Saturday's 7pm match is a dead rubber because India wrapped up the contest after the first three, and dared to go with an extra bowler in the fourth outing at Visakhapatnam, which the visitors won as a consolation.

India would certainly want to get back to winning ways, but for Sanju, the Thiruvananthapuram T20I should be as crucial as a World Cup final. It is the first time he will be involved in a T20I at his hometown, and he couldn't have asked for a more cosy space to add some runs to his unimpressive series tally of 40 from 4 innings.

There is a good reason to believe that the team management trusts Sanju to find form on home turf. "It's all up to an individual how to keep his mind strong and, obviously, our job is to keep him in a good frame of mind," India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Friday.

"He is practising, and he is working hard, so we all know what Sanju is capable of. I don't think there's anything more to say about Sanju because he has been really good.

"Sanju is a senior player; he is very good. He probably has not scored as many runs as everybody would like, but that's part of the cricketing career. Sometimes you have five innings in a row where you score so many runs and sometimes you have a little tight period."

About half an hour after Kotak's vote of confidence, Sanju was padded up for a net session. He lined up next to Ishan Kishan, the wicketkeeper, rivalling his spot in the World Cup. Clearly, the players were told to try some big hits, and it made for good viewing from a pavilion -- Sanju hammering a handful straight down the ground and the left-hander hooking and pulling a few into the vacant gallery.

Sanju faced side-armers Hari and Raghu before batting against left-arm spinner Axar Patel. He also had a chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel. Interestingly, Ishan Kishan practised wicketkeeping for some time, while Sanju did a few fielding drills. One shouldn't be surprised if that is how the two end up playing when India fields.

"It's been a very important series for us. It is obviously useful because before the World Cup, you kind of start getting into a rhythm, you start finding the combinations, and you try and give players an opportunity," Kotak said. Sanju will want to make the most of his opportunity on home turf because if he fails five in a row, you can't have any excuses when the World Cup squad is announced. ­