Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that Sanju Samson is a talented cricketer, but he failed to make the most of the opportunities that he was given, resulting in him being nowhere near being a certain selection for India in any format of the game.
Highlighting the sad reality of the digital world, the cricket pundit said that even Samson realized that he was going to get limited opportunities in the current set-up, but his fans do not understand the reality and are making the wicketkeeper-batter seem like God's gift to Indian cricket.
Aakash Chopra told YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia on 'TRS Clips': “Indian cricket is interesting. Like it or hate it, but the fact is that the atmosphere creates perception, and that is sometimes stronger than the truth. Sanju has a cult following - we live in a digital world. Where he comes from, it is very obvious that place and region has a digital presence.”
He continued, “When he plays well, he makes batting look easy. He is pleasing on the eyes, took his team to Ranji final, IPL final. Got some opportunities for India but didn't make the most of it. And this is a reality that fans do not understand. Sanju realises it that he is going to get limited opportunities in the current set-up. There is just no place in the XI.
Ishan Kishan scored a double century and yet we didn't give him the next few matches. When he did, he was asked to bat at No. 5. There isn't a place. And it's not because KL Rahul wasn't available. Had he been available, he would have still sat out. So that is the level of quality that is available. When the opportunity comes, just grab it away. If you throw it away for whatever reason, then you regret.”
Meanwhile, Indian cricket fans criticised the national selectors a lot for not picking Samson for the 2022 T20 World Cup where the Men in Blue crashed in the semi-finals, but Chopra feels even if the Kerala star had been picked, the story would not have been different.
Chopra noted, “During the Sanju Samson, phase it felt as if he is god's gift to Indian cricket. People said 'Play him and everything will fall in place. We would have even won the World Cup final'. They wouldn't realise that the bowlers had an off day or that Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant would have played in front of him.”
He signed off by saying, “But in reality, his batting wouldn't have made any difference. The atmosphere was such that if Samson had played, we could have done this and that.”
