Hit Or Flop? Decoding The Curious Case Of Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson's talent, and potential if you could term it that at the age of 29, is beyond reproach. An elegant stroke player with the ability to take any bowling attack in the world to the cleaners, Samson has, deservedly, earned a cult following for himself, mostly based on his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having made his IPL debut back in 2013, the wicket-keeper batsman has aged like fine wine in the domestic franchisee-based cricket league, getting better and better with every passing season. So far, Samson has amassed 3,888 runs in 152 IPL outings with an average of close to 30 and a strike rate of 137.19.

The last few years has, arguably, been the Kerala batter's best in the IPL. Having spent all but two seasons with Rajasthan Royals, Samson is RR's leading run scorer in the IPL and was named the captain of the team ahead of the 2021 season. Under his stewardship, Rajasthan finished runners-up in 2022.

However, whenever Sanju Samson has traded the Rajasthan colours for the blue stripes of the Indian national cricket team, he has been only a shadow of the maverick that he has been in the IPL.

Since making his international debut in a T20I against Zimbabwe back in 2015, it took Samson eight long years to log his first international century - 108 vs South Africa in an ODI at Paarl on December 21, 2023.

In all fairness, it was not till 2020 that Samson made his second international appearance in a T20I vs Sri Lanka in Pune. He only made his ODI debut in 2021 and is yet to earn his maiden Test cap.

While loyal Sanju Samson fans may argue that the batter hasn't had enough opportunities to prove himself on the international stage, it's also a fact that the classy right-handed batter has hardly done