IPL 2019: Gautam Gambhir takes stance on Sanju Samson after his blistering ton against SRH

Sure Sanju Samson, the lithe and slightly built wicketkeeper-batsman of the Rajasthan Royals (RR), rocked the world with his remarkable hundred on Friday. Playing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the right-handed Samson became only the 4th Indian batsman to score more than one IPL hundred. This is also the first hundred of the 2019 season of the marquee T20 league.

Before this, in this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), only David Warner came close to scoring a hundred for Sunrisers Hyderabad but he was dismissed for 85. Samson, who hit his 2nd hundred in the Indian Premier League to join an elite club of Indian batsmen, helped Rajasthan Royals muscle towards a strong total of 198 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday.

Samson, playing his 83rd match in the T20 league, was involved in a 119-run partnership with RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane (70) before unleashing some daring shots. The 24-year-old played all the classy shots in his ton and left fans and experts in awe. He was attacking from the start and kept the run-rate on the upper side even while Rahane took to the back foot at the start of the innings.

Jos Buttler, the most destructive batsman in the Royals’ armory, fell to Rashid Khan in his first over but Samson was not going to be taken by the early setback. Samson, who had scored his maiden IPL hundred in 2017 and was on fire in the 11th edition of the IPL as well. In 2018, he amassed 441 runs from 15 matches. While Virat Kohli (4) has the most hundreds by an Indian batsman in the IPL, only Murali Vijay (2) and Virender Sehwag (2) besides Sanju Samson(2) are the only other Indians with more than one hundred in the IPL.

Gambhir’s take on Sanju Samson

Sure the 24-year-old in question has established himself as a consistent performer in the IPL. But a World Cup spot for him would not really be ideal as Samson has made only one international appearance for the Men in blue — a T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare in the year 2015. It’s only a coincidence that Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane was leading India in that series. 

However, Gambhir has a different opinion and he voiced it on Twitter. It’s only ironic that he started the tweet with the line: “I normally don’t like to talk about individuals in cricket….”

Here’s the full tweet:

I normally don’t like to talk about individuals in cricket. But seeing his skills I am glad to note that Sanju Samson is currently the best Wicketkeeper batsman in India. For me he should be batting number 4 in the World Cup @BCCI @rajasthanroyals @IPL @StarSportsIndia

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) March 29, 2019

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