There is no doubt that Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson is one of the most debated names in Indian cricket at the moment. Experts were divided in the previous years between his sky high potential and output in the game, but in the more recent times, the debate has surrounded whether he should be a permanent part of the national team or not.
Samson, who is going to be at the helm of Rajasthan Royals for the second season in a row has found support in Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara who called him one of the most destructive batsmen going around.
“Irrespective of him being the captain or the future of RR, he is one of the best T20 players,” Sangakkara stated during the Clubhouse conversation on Red Bull Cricket.
Rajasthan Royals gave Samson his break in the IPL and have seen him grow into a mature batsman. Samson’s record over the past three seasons speaks for itself as the batter has gone on to show incredible maturity to become one of the top middle overs hitters in the country, alongside the likes of Punjab Kings captain Mayank Agarwal. Sangakkara delved upon the same and stated that he admires him for those qualities and that Samson has every ability you want in a batter.
“He is a magnificent player, destructive, match-winner, has every ability that you want in a batter. He was captain before I took over last season. I have come to know him really well and admire him.”
Samson scored a mammoth 484 runs last season at an astonishing strike-rate of 137 playing as an anchor. It is hard to believe, but Samson actually has tried to slow himself down for the sake of stability in the order and currently takes time to build his innings, something that speaks volumes about his growth and love for RR.
"He’s got such a passion for RR. He started here, he values that. He is a captain who is willing to admit that he doesn’t know everything as yet and he is going to grow into it. He’s got natural leadership qualities. He’s going to get better and better," Sangakkara admitted.
Samson will look to capitalise on the fairly deep batting line-up that Rajasthan have this season, with the likes of Jos Buttler and Devdutt Padikkal in the ranks. One might see Samson shifting to the middle order this season, to accommodate specialist openers of white ball cricket. IPL will be Samson’s final bid to the selectors of the national team for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad and it remains to be seen if he can come good on it.