Team India is getting ready for the upcoming T20 World Cup. It will take place in the October-November slot this year. Defending Champions Australia will host the tournament. The BCCI had already declared a 15-member squad where they kept both Dinesh Kartik and Pant in the squad. Pant has been almost a regular one in the squad. However, Karthik has been incredible coming back to the T20I squad. His outstanding performances in the 2022 IPL earned him the spot. Not only that, the senior gloveman is likely to take Rishabh’s place in the team. However, there’s another bloke who attracts the limelight-Sanju Samson!
The Kerala-born Sanju played however got limited chances to don the blue. Sanju didn’t even play a single T20I against South Africa in June. HE however got just one chance in one of the two T20Is against Ireland. Sanju didn’t even feature in any of the tri-match series against England. Few find it absolutely unjust not to be included in the T-20 WC squad.
IPL will give him fame, and riches. But he has to come and perform for Kerala: Sreesanth
However, two times WC winning former Indian player Sreesanth, had some different views. Sreesanth had observed Sanju from close quarters for a long time. He believes, playing IPL at its best won’t gift Sanju a favorable spot in the Indian team.
Sanju has been the captain of Rajasthan Royals, leading his franchise to the final. However, the last time he represented Kerala was in 2019 December.
In an exclusive interview with the Hindustan Times, Sreeshant said,
“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.”
He added,
“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.”
Rise of players will give tough competition to Sanju Samson
Sreesanth is quite aware of the fan’s support for Sanju. However, he insisted that the fans must realize that there’s one wicketkeeper in the team. And with the rise so many players, the competition has been a really tough one. He also said that he recently had a chat with Sanju.
“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.”
Sreesanth added,
“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,”
Recently, Sanju Samson got the responsibility of a captain for the India ‘A’ side against New Zealand ‘A’. There, they registered a 3-0 ODI victory. His scores are respectively 29*, 37, and 54 in the series. However, as per reports, Sanju is likely to get a chance in the squad against South Africa ODI clash next month.
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