Sanju Samson has returned to the Indian T20I setup after a hiatus of 7 months. Considered as one of the finest strikers of the cricket ball, the Kerala cricketer is a renowned name in the domestic circuit. However, he is yet to leave an impact in the international arena.
Samson has been frequently in and out of the team. He has proved his mettle in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but couldn’t impress in whatever chances he got to represent India. So far, he has played 10 T20Is, scoring just 114 runs, with the highest score of 27. But the selectors have shown faith in him once again as he was named in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, which begins on Thursday in Lucknow.
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Speaking about Sanju’s ability, India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said the 27-year-old has immense talent but it’s totally up to him how he utilizes that.
“That guy has got talent. Whenever we have seen him bat, he has produced an innings where everyone goes over the moon that. He’s got the skillset to succeed. Now, that’s the whole point about this spot. A lot of people have the skillset, a lot of people have talent. I think it’s up to Sanju how he utilizes his talent and how he can maximize it,” Rohit said in a pre-match virtual presser.
“As team management, we’ll see a lot of potential and match-winning abilities in that individual. I hope, we give him that confidence when he gets an opportunity to play for us,” he added.
With T20 World Cup nearing by, the Indian team management is trying out several talents before they lock a strong 15-man unit for the event. Asked if Sanju is a part of the scheme of things, Rohit said, “Definitely, he’s into the consideration, which is why he is a part of the team.”
“His backfoot play is superb. Some of his shots, you must have seen during the IPL, the pick-up pull, the cut shots, standing and delivering over bowler’s head – those types of shots are not easy to play. When you go to Australia, you need those kinds of shot-making abilities and Samson definitely has it in him,” he added.
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Earlier, chief Indian selector Chetan Sharma also spoke about Sanju, saying that his selection might come as a surprise to many but the cricketer was always in consideration.
“Sanju is in our scheme of things. Most importantly we have to see which is a cricketer who will be useful on Australian wickets. He is definitely in our scheme of things (for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year,” Chetan Sharma had said.
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