Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday (8th June) lauded Sanju Samson, saying that the keeper-batter has more shots than any other Indian batter. He feels that the right-hander should feature in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Despite all the talent and performances in the domestic circuit and IPL, Samson has found himself in and out of the Indian team. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper had an impressive campaign both as a batter and as a skipper in the recently concluded IPL 15.
Samson guided RR to their first final since 2008 and it is fair to say that he led from the front and scored 458 runs at a strike rate of 146.79 to go with 2 half-centuries.
Read Also: Salman Butt hails Virat Kohli as an institution in himself; says he holds exemplary stature
With him having a decent campaign, it was expected that he would be named in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa. But his name not being there in the team surprised many.
Also, with the T20 World Cup around the corner, BCCI is giving opportunities to young players and there have been calls regarding the inclusion of Samson in the side. Many feel that the keeper-batter is best suited for the Australian wickets.
Shastri, who coached India from 2017 to 2021, feels that Samson should be in the Indian squad for the upcoming World Cup.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Shastri said with T20 World Cup 2022 around the corner, there will be opportunities for players. But considering the pace and bounce in the wickets of Australia, Samson is more suited as he has more ‘shots’ than any other Indian batter.
Read Also: I can’t come close to Kapil Dev at the end of the day- Hardik Pandya on comparisons with the legend
"(Short ball discussion) it will come into play in these 20 games. Between Tripathi, Samson, and Iyer, there will be opportunities now. But when you look at Australia, bounce, pace, cut, pull, Samson will always threaten there. For that conditions, he has more shots than any other Indian, to be honest," Ravi Shastri said.
Shastri believes that seasoned campaigners Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah will not feature in all of India's matches ahead of the T20 World Cup. And hence there will be opportunities for others to grab their places.
"Because of the proximity to the World Cup, I don't think they (Rohit, Kohli, Pant, Bumrah) will play all of these 30 games. They will be shared with others. Unless something drastic happens due to injury, I can't see them missing out," he said.
Samson has so far played 13 T20I for India and has scored 174 runs at a strike rate of 121.7. With KL Rahul being ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa, BCCI might name Samson as his replacement.
(ESPNCricinfo inputs)
