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Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is enjoying a golden patch with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League and has scored 471 runs in 11 matches. Considering his sublime form with the bat, RR team’s director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, feels that he has made a strong case to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper at the T20 World Cup. Samson has been picked in India’s 15-member squad for the mega ICC event alongside Rishabh Pant, who will return to Indian colours for the first time after his horrific car accident.
Both wicketkeeper batters have been in good form this IPL, but looking at numbers, Samson is leading the race at the moment. The RR skipper has displayed consistency with the bat this season scoring five half-centuries in 11 matches.
In the high-octane clash on Tuesday, Samson smashed 86 off 46 balls on Tuesday but the knock went in vain, with the Capitals winning by 20 runs at home.
Sangakkara played down the Pant versus Samson debate in the post-match press conference but made his choice clear.
“It’s really up to Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma and how they see the combination,” Sangakkara told reporters.
“But he has made his case, so hopefully he’ll have a good run in the World Cup.”
Samson has led his team from the front and is currently the third-highest run-getter in the tournament after Virat Kohli (542) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (541).
Pant, who has been lauded for his glovework and batting after recovering from his crash in December 2022, is also among the top 10 batsmen with 413 runs from 12 matches.
Sangakkara pointed out that Samson has shown a lot of clarity with his approach and addressed the issues which pulled him down in the last few seasons.
“With Sanju, the biggest thing about this season for him is having a lot of clarity about the way he should bat,” former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batsman Sangakkara said.
“There are certain stages of the game that he seems to lose a bit of concentration, which we’ve addressed from past seasons,” he added.
“He’s changed his mindset about the importance of rest and recovery, rather than just training all the time and being tired mentally and physically.”
It will be Samson’s first outing with the Indian team in the World Cup, and Sangakkara has backed his franchise skipper and called him a team man.
“He’s a special player and when he’s fresh and focused there’s nothing he can’t do,” said Sangakkara.
