Sanju Samson, India’s enigmatic wicketkeeper-batter, is once again vying for a permanent berth in the national cricket team. Despite making his international debut in 2015, Samson has struggled to cement his place in the star-studded Indian lineup. However, with the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from T20I cricket, a new era has dawned for the Indian team, and Samson is determined to seize the opportunity.
In the recently concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, Samson was handed the opening role alongside Abhishek Sharma. While he displayed glimpses of his brilliance, scoring 29 runs off 19 balls in the first match, he failed to make a significant impact and was dismissed early.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has emphasized the need for consistency from Samson in the upcoming matches. He warned that if Samson fails to perform, he could be dropped from the team. “He is good. He scored 29 runs. My only thing was that since he had reached here, he should go slightly further ahead. He should score a few more runs because, otherwise, they would drop him,” Chopra said.
Despite his early dismissal, Chopra praised Samson’s elegant shot-making. “You need to talk about Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma was playing amazingly well until he got run out, but how well did Sanju play? Gautam Gambhir said long back that if Sanju Samson doesn’t play for India, it’s India’s loss. He was made to open. The silken touch was seen. He wasn’t hitting the ball hard; it seemed like he didn’t want to hurt the ball, and he was hitting one four after another.”
Samson’s performance in the remaining matches of the series will be crucial for his future with the Indian T20I team. If he can maintain his consistency and make significant contributions, he could finally secure a permanent spot in the lineup.
