“Why Has Sanju Samson Not Had A Steady India Career?”: Sunil Gavaskar’s Blunt Assessment
Sanju Samson walking back to the pavilion during RR’s IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 match vs SRH.© BCCI
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson had a good show in IPL 2024. On the captaincy front, he led the side to Qualifier 2 where they lost to SunRisers Hyderabad by 36 runs. Meanwhile, as a batter, Samson scored 531 runs at an average of 48.27 and strike rate of 153.47. However, he failed to showcase his glamour in the Qualifier 2 and lost his wicket for 10 runs off 11 balls in the game in Chennai during RR’s chase of 176.
Samson pulled a flat length delivery of Abhishek Sharma to the right of long-on fielder Aiden Markram, who did not make any mistake.
Former India cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar was left fuming over the dismissal while speaking on Star Sports as quoted by Sportskeeda. He questioned the player’s shot selection.
“What’s the use of scoring 500 runs if you can’t win your team the match or title? Everyone got out while playing glamorous shots. Why has Samson not had a steady India career? It’s because his shot selection has let him down,” said Gavaskar.
Gavaskar even went on to say that Samson’s poor shot selection has played a huge role in him not being a permanent member in the Indian team.
“If his shot selection had been good, his India career too would have been long. I hope that the opportunity he has got in the T20 World Cup, he grabs it with both hands and cements his place,” the legend said.
It is worth noting that Samson has found a place in the 15-member India squad for T20 World Cup 2024.
Rishabh Pant, who has also made it to the squad as another wicketkeeper-batter in the team, is likely to be India’s first choice in the tournament. This means that Samson will either get no or very limited chances in the T20 event.
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