“A guy from Kerala must secure his spot in Team India…”: Sanju Samson drops matter-of-fact take on’ competition’

For India’s star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, the journey in the national team has been a mix of ups and downs. Inconsistency has plagued Samson’s run in Team India, but he has certainly shown glimpses of his talents with some memorable knocks for the side over the years. Samson currently plays for the Indian white-ball team and featured in the T20I team during the side’s last match against Afghanistan.

Practice session (PTI) – Sanju Samson (c) with India captain Rohit Sharma (R)
Sanju Samson (c) with India’s captain Rohit Sharma (R) during a practice session (PTI)
Samson has worked tirelessly to perfect his aggressive style of play recently that has paid off in shorter formats. Star performer: the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has consistently impressed as the captain of Rajasthan Royals in India Premier League. Samson hit 153.39 in the 2023 season and scored 362 runs over 14 innings. The prior year, he notched up 458 runs, guiding his team to the tournament final.

Regardless of the Indian call ups, Samson acknowledges the need to continuously develop as well as enhance his game to remain competitive amidst the ever growing talent pool within the Indian team.

“When playing cricket in the best country in the world… India is no.1 in the world’ the number of players, the number of talent and the competitions 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 told Star Sports on their show Star Nahi Far.

“I always wanted to be different with the way I bat… develop my own style. I wanted to go out and hit a six, regardless if it is the first ball. That was the shift in the mindset. I wanted to try something else. What is the reason for waiting for ten balls to strike a six? My motivation for my power-hitting was that ”

Competition for WK spots
Several wicketkeeper-batters came into the Team India fold in recent years. Following Rishabh Pant’s accident in December 2022 which ruled him out there for the entire of the season, the side witnessed the emergence of Ishan Kishan, with the likes of Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel also making their national team debuts across different formats.

KL Rahul also kept wickets at the ODI World Cup in 2023 and also did exactly the same during the Test series against South Africa.

“I put in a lot of effort during Covid times, a lot of people helped me. I’m very happy, things are coming on nice. The grind goes on and on, I am never satisfied. Samson stated he wished to continue performing spectacularly for the team he plays for, adding that he wished to continue.