Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim has urged Sanju Samson to be consistent in his performances in order to get regular chances for the national team. Karim feels Samson has done well sporadically in the IPL and he should perform consistently as the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma did for RR and MI respectively in IPL 2023.
While Jaiswal scored 625 runs in 14 matches in the season to bag the Emerging Player of the Season, Tilak Varma scored 343 runs in 11 matches for MI. Sanju Samson, on the other hand, scored 362 runs in 14 matches while leading Rajasthan Royals.
The Kerala batter is well known for his flamboyant game and he has played some breathtaking knocks in the IPL. However, Samson hasn’t been consistent enough in the domestic circuit.
Meanwhile, Samson has scored 330 runs in 11 ODI matches for India at an average of 66. But he is yet to grab his chances in the T20I format as he has amassed only 301 runs in 17 matches at an average of 20.07.
Saba Karim said in an interview with News24 Sports, “Since you don’t have players currently, I want Sanju Samson to be in the XI, he should play and perform regularly so that he challenges the players currently in the team. Sanju Samson, unfortunately, is unable to do that.”
Karim added: “If you see in the IPL as well, he performed well sporadically. I want to see the same regularity in Sanju Samson’s batting that Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma have shown this year. That is still missing.”
Karim reckons inconsistent performances haven’t helped Samson seal his place in the national team and he has high expectations from the batter as he has got all the potential.
“I have a lot of expectations from Samson because he has the skill but unfortunately the consistency that should be there is missing at times and because of that only I feel he has not secured his place in the Indian team.”
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav are expected to wrestle for the middle order spot for the upcoming ODI World Cup. Karim feels it will be a good challenge for both of these two right-handers.
“Good challenge then – whoever does well. If you are giving so many chances to both, it’s a testing platform in a way. It is international cricket, the conditions in the West Indies are slightly difficult, the ball gets stuck on the pitch. Whoever between the two players does well there, he will be ahead in the pecking order.”
India will next take on West Indies in two Test matches, three ODIs, and five T20Is.
