Former South Africa batter AB de Villiers has lavished praise on Sanju Samson, offering the wicketkeeper batter a key piece of advice after he missed out on India’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad. Samson has been kept as the travelling reserve with the Indian team for the Asia Cup 2023, but with Ishan Kishan taking over wicketkeeping duties, and the return of KL Rahul, Samson was left out of the 15-man roster for the World Cup at home starting in October.
It was always going to boil down between Samson and Suryakumar Yadav, with Rahul and Kishan pretty much expected to make the cut, and even though both SKY and Sanju failed to cement their place in the Indian team in the absence of the likes of Shreyas Iyer, and Rahul, Surya made the cut ahead of Samson, and the decision has been a major debate ever since.
Plenty of former Indian players have also touched upon the duo of Samson and SKY, as did De Villiers who recalled an iconic knock of 92 runs smashed by Sanju while offering the wicketkeeper batter key advice after the World Cup snub.
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“I don’t have to say much about him. We know what he’s capable of,” ABD said on his YouTube channel.
“I’ve been on the receiving end for RCB, watching him score 92 not out at the Chinnaswamy. The ball was flying all over the place. He’s also got the conventional cricket game and technique where he plays with a straight bat, plays the ball nicely. He’s got a good pull and hook shot,” the Proteas legend recalled.
De Villiers said that while Sanju Samson has everything in his bag, it’s just that he needs to adapt better to the demands of the fifty-over format.
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“He’s got everything in his bag. It’s all in the mind and it’s a matter of adapting to ODI and gameplans and the World Cup and the pressure thereof. So yes, two great players (Surya and Sanju),” he added.
Consistency has been lacking in Samson’s performances, which saw him lose his place to SKY in the World Cup squad. Rohit Sharma’s men begin their World Cup campaign against Australia on October 8, in Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
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