Hit Or Flop? Decoding The Curious Case Of Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson’s expertise, and potential in the event you might time period it that on the age of 29, is past reproach. An elegant stroke participant with the flexibility to take any bowling assault on the earth to the cleaners, Samson has, deservedly, earned a cult following for himself, principally primarily based on his performances within the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having made his IPL debut again in 2013, the wicket-keeper batsman has aged like wonderful wine within the home franchisee-based cricket league, getting higher and higher with each passing season. So far, Samson has amassed 3,888 runs in 152 IPL outings with a median of near 30 and a strike charge of 137.19.

The previous couple of years has, arguably, been the Kerala batter’s greatest within the IPL. Having spent all however two seasons with Rajasthan Royals, Samson is RR’s main run scorer within the IPL and was named the captain of the workforce forward of the 2021 season. Under his stewardship, Rajasthan completed runners-up in 2022.

However, at any time when Sanju Samson has traded the Rajasthan colors for the blue stripes of the Indian nationwide cricket workforce, he has been solely a shadow of the maverick that he has been within the IPL.

Since making his worldwide debut in a T20I towards Zimbabwe again in 2015, it took Samson eight lengthy years to log his first worldwide century – 108 vs South Africa in an ODI at Paarl on December 21, 2023.

In all equity, it was not until 2020 that Samson made his second worldwide look in a T20I vs Sri Lanka in Pune. He solely made his ODI debut in 2021 and is but to earn his maiden Test cap.

While loyal Sanju Samson followers could argue that the batter hasn’t had sufficient alternatives to show himself on the worldwide stage, it is also a indisputable fact that the stylish right-handed batter has hardly performed justice to his skills when the probabilities did come his approach.

In T20Is, Sanju Samson has scored solely 374 runs in 24 outings at a median simply in need of 20 – little doubt a disappointing document contemplating his heroics in the identical format of cricket within the IPL.

Perhaps what’s essentially the most worrisome half about Samson’s knocks is the truth that, as a rule, he appears to get good begins. But in relation to changing these into massive knocks, the Kerala batter has come off quick, particularly towards good groups.

Samson’s highest rating in T20I cricket is 77 vs Ireland – his solely half-century within the format. His second-highest rating is 40, which got here towards the identical opponent.

Samson’s ODI document, nonetheless, paints a unique image. At the time of writing, regardless of making solely 16 appearances within the 50-over format, he has amassed 510 runs at a median of 56.66. Staying unbeaten in 5 of the 14 innings he has batted in contributes closely to the excessive common however regardless of the actual fact, somebody with a median of fifty plus is difficult to disregard whereas choosing any ODI workforce.

However, there is a totally different problem Samson faces right here. As a wicketkeeper-batsman, Samson, now 29, might be pitted towards the likes of Rishabh Pant, 26, and Ishan Kishan, 25. Both gamers have already got a confirmed pedigree in worldwide cricket and their age makes them higher long-term prospects for selectors, who might be trying to put together a workforce for the longer term.

If thought-about within the workforce a specialist batter, Sanju Samson’s most popular place is the No. 3 slot, which is nearly all the time reserved for one Virat Kohli, when match and never rested. Samson’s aggressive model of play additionally permits him to play as a finisher however on that entrance, once more, Samson has competitors with Suryakumar Yadav and the fast-emerging Rinku Singh within the fray.

Rishabh Pant’s inevitable return publish his unlucky accident again in 2022, will solely make the competitors harder for Samson to cement his place within the nationwide workforce.

Labelling Sanju Samson’s worldwide profession a success or flop is not fairly a simple name. But in a nutshell, it has been a narrative of missed alternatives – a number of of them – and at a time when the competitors to get into the Indian males’s cricket workforce has been the fiercest it has ever been, it is a luxurious no participant, even somebody of Sanju Samson’s calibre, can afford.