Sanju Samson
's consistency has always kept him in contention to represent India, but stiff competition for places in the Indian batting line-up and Rishbah Pant being the first-choice wicketkeeper meant that Samson was in and out of the national squad. However, he has been given another opportunity, this time alongside Pant, to wear the India jersey with a recall to the
T20 World Cup
squad.
IPL 2024: Results | Points Table
Samson is currently leading Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League season, and it's his consistent performance in the league, both as a captain and as a batsman, that has earned him a recall ahead of KL Rahul.
Speaking on Star Sports show 'Captains Speak', the 29-year-old Samson opened up on how he looks at his career graph and the change in approach he has adopted to enhance his chances of cementing a place in the Indian team.
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"When you are playing cricket in the world's best (cricket-playing) country, I think India is number one in the whole world (in terms of) the number of players who play and the number of talent we have and the competition we have, a guy from Kerala, if he has to come and cement his place in the national side, he has to do something special," Samson said.
He made his international debut in a T20I against Zimbabwe in July 2015 but played his first ODI only six years later in 2021. In nine years since wearing the India jersey for the first, Samson has played only 16 ODIs and 25 T20Is. In 14 ODI innings he has scored 510 runs with a century and three fifties, while in 22 T20I innings he has accummulated 374 runs with one fifty at a strike rate of 133.09.
However, Samson has re-invented his game lately, which shows in his current IPL numbers.
Under Samson's captaincy, Rajasthan presently top the points table with a remarkable 8 wins in 9 matches. The skipper ranks 7th in the list of leading run-scorers of IPL 2024, accumulating 385 runs in 9 matches, including four half-centuries. He maintains an impressive strike rate of 161.08 and an average of 77.0.
"I just always wanted to be special, always wanted to stand out the way I bat. I just wanted to create my own style of batting. No matter even if it's the first ball, I want to go out there and hit a six," said Samson.
"So that's the shift in the mindset, which I had. I just wanted to do something different, like why do we have to wait for 10 balls to hit a six? So I just walk in and if I feel like, I do that the first ball. That was the motive behind development of my power stroke."
The T20 World Cup, slated from June 2 to 29, will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA. India are set to kick off their campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York.
"I think I put in lots and lots of effort during the Covid time. A lot of people did help me. A lot of things go behind the scenes, which actually I only know and my close people know. So, very happy, things are coming on nice. The grind keeps on going. I am never satisfied. I just want to go on and keep on doing something spectacular for the side I play for," said Samson.
But before he wears the India jersey again at the T20 World Cup, Samson has a job to do for the Royals, who aim to win their second IPL trophy after lifting it in the inaugural edition of the league.
Rajasthan are gearing up to face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next IPL 2024 match on Thursday in Hyderabad.
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