Why is Sanju Samson not an obvious pick for Team India?

When you have Mohammad Shami and Hardik Pandya handling the new ball and Rashid Khan as a trump bowler, for any side chasing is not easy. This is where the role played by Sanju Samson was classy.

Why is Sanju Samson not an obvious pick for Team India?

Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson is perhaps the most underrated cricketer who has not gotten his due despite producing heroics. On Sunday night, in the IPL fiesta, the Rajasthan Royals skipper showed great cunning and leadership, plus runs to boot as last year’s runner-up rocked Gujarat Titans, winning by three wickets.

For those who think an overdose of four matches over the weekend in the IPL is hard to digest, what Sanju Samson and man-of-the-match Shimron Hetmyer produced was exciting. To chase 178 for victory was not easy as the Titans have a bowling attack that is potent and has plenty of variety.

When you have Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya handling the new ball and Rashid Khan as a trump bowler, for any side chasing is not easy. This is where the role played by Sanju Samson was classy. Rashid Khan is not easy to score off, and Sanju showed how he can handle even this wily fox who often takes batters for a spin. That Sanju could extract 20 runs in one Rashid over speaks volumes about his capability.

Given the track record of these two teams — winner and runner-up — in the 2022 edition of the IPL, Sanju Samson needs to be appreciated for his performances. There is a fight out there in T20s for the wicket-keeper-batter slot. KL Rahul has many people batting for him, call it PR skills or good luck.

Then there is Ishan Kishan of Mumbai Indians. Frankly speaking, Sanju Samson should be in the mix as the first choice for T20 internationals. One man who will be able to best vouch for his credentials is Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya himself. After all, the projection is Pandya will lead Team India henceforth in the shortest format in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024.

“Skipper Sanju Samson stood tall. He took on the main wicket-taker Rashid and came out smiling, as he smashed three consecutive sixes off him,” said Hardik Pandya after the match. This is more than a compliment, an acknowledgment that Sanju deserves to be part of Team India.

Related: “Ye naya Rajasthan hain bhai”- Twitter creates funny memes as Sanju Samson, Shimron Hetmyer help RR revenge last year’s final defeat vs GT

As a wicketkeeper, Sanju Samson has a safe pair of gloves

Why is Sanju Samson not an obvious pick for Team India?
Sanju Samson

One normally will not hear of too many cricketers from Kerala making an impact in cricket, Track and field, football and a few more sports like volleyball are the essential flavor in Kerala. From S.Sreesanth to Sanju Samson, Kerala has seen good performers in the IPL over the years, though Sreesanth got caught in an infamous controversy many years ago in this very competition.

Sanju has been in the IPL for a decade now. He was bought by Rajasthan Royals at Rs 14 crores in the 2023 auction. That is value for money for the franchise owners as Sanju has delivered the goods. Having made his debut in 2013, Sanju has been part of Rajasthan, then came to Delhi Daredevils, now Delhi Capitals, for a few seasons. He was rewarded with the RR captaincy in 2021 and has not looked back. For the record, he had been groomed by Rahul Dravid in Delhi. As a wicketkeeper, he has a safe pair of gloves. In 143 matches, he has scored 3683 runs at a strike rate of 136.76. As a wicket-keeper, he has taken 74 catches and effected 14 stumpings.

“When you play quality opponents on a quality wicket, you get such games. Very happy to compete in such a game and come out on top. It was important to rotate our bowlers, they were playing some quality cricket and we had to respect that,” said Sanju on Sunday night. The guy is modest and focused on the IPL. Not long ago, Rajasthan Royals was a side that was way down the pecking order in the IPL.

Under legend Shane Warne’s guidance, the side took wings in the IPL. For the side to be now piloted by Sanju Samson is an indicator of how much they have progressed and matured in the IPL in recent years. And this is when a side like Delhi Capitals is plumbing the depths of despair. For the record, Sanju has played 11 ODIs and only 17 T20 internationals. Hope the selectors are watching the IPL seriously, even though there is still no chairman of the committee after Chetan Sharma was sacked!

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