“IPL will give him fame and riches, but…”- Sreesanth feels Sanju Samson needs to perform in domestic cricket

Samson was not part of India's T20 WC 2022 squad or for Australia and South Africa T20Is.

One of the hottest debated topics in Indian cricket is how Sanju Samson is being unfairly treated by the Indian selectors ever since he made his India debut in 2015. Samson, considered one of the most talented cricketers in the country, is yet to cement his spot in the Men in the Blue side.

The Kerala-born batter had been a part of the side in multiple T20I series following India's return to action after the IPL this year; however, he only had limited opportunities in the playing XI due to the emergence of Dinesh Karthik.

Karthik was even named in the Indian T20 World Cup 2022 squad as one of the two keepers with Rishabh Pant being the other one.

Samson was not part of the South Africa T20Is in June this year, nor was he part of the recent Australia T20Is, and was not named in the squad for the three T20Is against South Africa which begin on September 28.

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While some believe that Samson was unjustifiably excluded from the T20 World Cup squad, Sreesanth, who has seen Samson closely in domestic cricket throughout the latter's formative years, had reasoning for the same.

He feels that merely performing in the IPL will not give Samson enough reasons to attract the attention of selectors, but the 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter needs to return to Kerala and deliver for the state team.

“He has to be consistent. See, everyone is talking about the IPL. I’m from Kerala, I’m somebody who has always supported him. I’ve seen him play from U14. He has played under me. In fact, I was the one who gave him the cap on his Ranji Trophy debut. But the way I see him… it’s a request to him – he has to start performing in first-class matches,” Sreesanth told Hindustan Times.

Samson leads the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and captained them to the final of IPL 2022. However, his last FC game for Kerala came in December 2019 against Gujarat.

“Yes, IPL is very important. IPL will give him fame, popularity, and riches, everything across the globe. But I have this strong feeling – for any cricketer for that matter – that they need to start doing extremely well for the state side, especially in first-class cricket. Sanju has to come out and perform in first-class matches. Not just score a hundred, score 200s. Come and make the Kerala team win the Ranji Trophy! Make Kerala team win the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Then, the Kerala cricketers will come out on top,” Sreesanth said.

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Sreesanth also revealed that he has had a chat with Sanju Samson regarding the same.

“Is Sanju the only cricketer in Kerala? No, there are so many other cricketers in the state. It’s just a matter of time. Sanju is playing in the IPL, he should be so grateful. The Malayali people across the globe are supporting him, but then, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan… they can all keep. I’m telling you, the keeper-batsmen combination is very high, it’s not just Sanju,” said Sreesanth.

“I’ve told him also, that he has to come back to first-class cricket and make Kerala win. He is the captain also, I genuinely hope he scores hundreds, not just one hundred in three years. He should come into the scene like how Rishabh Pant or Ishan Kishan came. I’m very confident Sanju has got the talent and the ability. It’s just the matter of consistency,” said Sreesanth.

Samson recently captained India A to 3-0 one-day series win over New Zealand A in Chennai and is expected to be named in the India ODI squad for the three-match series against South Africa with Shikhar Dhawan leading the side.

(Hindustan Times inputs)