NEW DELHI:
Sanju Samson
has not been in the scheme of things of the Indian selectors despite boasting a good record in ODIs and it remains to be seen whether the wicket-keeper batter will be able to retain his place in the team for the future series.
Samson notched up his maiden ODI hundred in the third ODI against South Africa to guide India to a series-clinching 78-run victory. He scored a measured 108 off 114 balls.
Former India opener
Gautam Gambhir
expressed apprehensions about whether Samson, despite his match-winning performance, will be given consistent opportunities. He also mentioned that scoring a century creates pressure on the selectors to include you in the team.
"We all know how much talent he has. Not just us, everyone has talked about it given the kind of innings he has played in the IPL. But today through this knock, somewhere he has kickstarted his international career. Before this, he always received sporadic chances - sometimes he would get a game, something he would be left out. But when you score a 100, you not only impress the selectors but even put pressure on them to pick you," Gambhir said on Star Sports.
"But we'll have to see whether India will even persist with him after this century because the next World Cup is four years away. Still, the kind of quality player Samson is, I feel he should be persisted with. With his keeping, you have a very good option in the middle order. India will always have a strong and heavy top order but Samson will always give you that option in the middle. With this knock, Samson has restarted his career," he said.
Gambhir also lauded Samson the way he approached his innings and how he adjusted his pace according to the situations. He rated Samson's innings as a perfect example of experience, calibre and class.
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"Such seamless switching of gears does not come without experience. He has played so much domestic cricket, T20 cricket, captained in the IPL, so he knows how to absorb pressure. Stuff like which bowler you plan to take on and those calculations are not easy. He started off slowly before he started to keep the scoreboard ticking and, in the end, went after. We all know how destructive he can be. This was a proper batter's innings who has experience, calibre and class," added Gambhir.
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