'He will always threaten in Australia' - Ravi Shastri backs Sanju Samson for T20 WC 2022 selection

Rajasthan Royals suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the IPL 2022 final at the hands of debutants Gujarat Titans. Even though RR skipper Sanju Samson had a productive season with the bat in the IPL, he has not been named in India’s squad for the T20I series against South Africa. Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has backed Samson to be one of the contenders for selection ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.

The Royals were led by their young Indian captain, Samson, and reached their second final in the tournament’s history. The Rajasthan skipper played some terrific cameos throughout the season but only managed two half-centuries as he finished with 458 runs to his name. His failure to convert starts into big innings proved to be an Achilles heel for the batter as he missed out on a spot in the national team to Shreyas Iyer.

But, former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri has opinionated that the Royals’ skipper will come in handy on the bouncy surfaces in Australia as he has got more shots in his arsenal than any other Indian batter.

“(Short ball discussion) it will come into play in these 20 games. Between Tripathi, Samson, and Iyer, there will be opportunities now. But when you look at Australia, bounce, pace, cut, pull, Samson will always threaten there. For that conditions, he has more shots than any other Indian, to be honest,” Shastri told ESPNcricinfo.

While there has been much speculation about the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after their recent poor run, Ravi Shastri shares the belief that the veterans will be on the plane to Australia for the T20 World Cup unless something drastic happens. India will be playing 30 games leading up to the T20 World Cup later this year.

“Because of the proximity to the World Cup, I don’t think they (Rohit, Kohli, Pant, Bumrah) will play all of these 30 games. They will be shared with others. Unless something drastic happens due to injury, I can’t see them missing out,” the former Indian coach added.

‘It just feels right, and inevitably they will perform: Daniel Vettori on the selection of Rohit and Virat for the T20 World Cup

Former Kiwi captain Daniel Vettori also shared the same views as Shastri, as he believes that big players have a track record of proving themselves in crucial situations for India, and it feels right to have them in the playing XI.

“Such players have a problem track record that you can sustain a tough run. I think they have proven themselves in big situations where they have performed for India so many times that you want them in your World Cup team. When you write their names on the team sheet, it just feels right and inevitably they will perform,” Vettori said.