A section of Indian cricket fans feels that the national selectors have always undervalued Sanju Samson.
The 27-year-old from Kerala is not part of the T20 World Cup squad, not even among the reserves, though he has played well in the game’s shortest format — and took the Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final as well this year. Ever the team man, the wicketkeeper-batsman is prepared to take risks early in the innings even if that approach often leads to a drop in his average.
His backers point out that Samson has never got the opportunities a Suryakumar Yadav or a Shreyas Iyer have in the national team. Yet you cannot ignore his statistics: In a World Cup year, the Kerala cricketer has featured in only six T20Is, scoring 179 runs in five innings at an average of 44.75 and strike rate of 158.40.
In the first ODI against South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday, Samson once again showed his class with an unbeaten 86 off 63 balls and almost took India, chasing 241 in 40 overs, over the line, something that was quite unthinkable at one stage.
In the final over bowled by Tabraiz Shamsi, India needed 30 runs, and Samson narrowed the target to 15 off three. However, he failed to get a run off the fourth delivery, and in the end, South Africa won by nine runs.
“We fell short by two shots... one four and one six. If we had hit those, we would have won,” Samson said after the match.
He showed why he should be involved in India’s whiteball plans more often. There have been calls to include him in the World Cup T20 squad but that’s unlikely since India are already struggling to find a suitable replacement for the injured Jasprit Bumrah.
“That was a valiant effort from Sanju Samson. Tough luck but a very high quality innings,” tweeted former opener Virender Sehwag.
Former South Africa pace spearhead Dale Steyn also heaped praise on Samson.
“Shamsi was going to bowl the last over and he (Samson) knew he (Shamsi) had had a rough day... Sanju is a kind of guy who has the potential of Yuvi, to hit those six sixes and get the team across the line when it needs 30-plus,” Steyn said on Star Sports. “I watched him in the IPL, his ability to take down the bowlers and hit boundaries at will, especially in the last two overs of the game, is incredible.”
But his detractors argue that Samson often shows a lack of awareness of the match situation. For example, in Thursday’s game, the team needed 37 off the last two overs with Avesh Khan on strike and Samson at the other end. Avesh missed the first two deliveries of the 39th over from Kagiso Rabada and then flung his bat to the third. Lungi Ngidi, turning and running from point, missed the catch but to everyone’s surprise, Samson ran two when a single would have brought him on strike. Avesh missed the fourth delivery and was out on the fifth.
Had Samson been on strike he would have got two deliveries to face from Rabada, who can be put away for runs because of his pace, and who knows, the result could have been very different. This, according to some pundits, is the reason why he misses out when weighed against a Suryakumar or a Rishabh Pant.
Samson understands the competition he faces, and recently put out a video on social media addressing this subject.
“Lately there’s been a lot of talk on social media that Sanju should replace Rishabh Pant, or he should replace KL Rahul. But my thinking is very clear. Whether it’s KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant, they’re playing for their team. If I think about competing with my own teammates, I’m letting my own country down, I’m letting my own Indian team down. I always like to think in a positive way... when you get that chance, just go out and do it for your team.”
That’s Sanju Samson, always there at the forefront for the team’s cause. It will be hard to ignore him during the ODI World Cup at home next year.
