The clamour for the inclusion of Sanju Samson in the India squads has been growing in volume for a while now.
And the Rajasthan Royals skipper has been added to the India squad for ODIs for the West Indies tour. The 28-year-old has had minimal chances to perform in an India jersey. Even after playing at the highest levels for a long time in the IPL, Sanju made his ODI debut only as recently as 2021. The wicketkeeper last played an ODI in November 2022 against New Zealand.
Upon Samson’s selection for the WI Tour, Former India Head Coach Ravi Shastri heaped nothing but praises for him. He complimented Sanju on being a match-winner. Shastri also metaphorically compared Sanju to the likes of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
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In an interview with The Week, Shastri said,
Sanju Samson is a match-winner, I will be disappointed if he does not finish his career all guns blazing. It is like when I was the coach, I would have been disappointed if Rohit Sharma had not played in my side as a regular Test player.
Team India is scheduled to play West Indies in 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 5 T20Is in an away tour starting on 17 July 2023.
Sanju Samson’s record while donning the India Blue
ODIs
|
Matches |
Innings |
Runs |
Balls |
Average |
Strike Rate |
High Score |
50s |
100s |
|
11 |
10 |
330 |
315 |
66.00 |
104.76 |
86* |
2 |
0 |
T20Is
|
Matches |
Innings |
Runs |
Balls |
Average |
Strike Rate |
High Score |
50s |
100s |
|
17 |
16 |
301 |
225 |
20.06 |
133.77 |
77 |
1 |
0 |
He made his T20I Debut way earlier compared to his ODI Debut. A 20-year-old Sanju Samson was selected for the Zimbabwe tour in 2015. Samson had an underwhelming debut, scoring 19 runs off 24 balls. His T20I record has been below-par, as the Trivandrum-born cricketer averages barely above 20 in 16 innings. His best score of 77 came against a substandard opposition in Ireland in Dublin in 2022.
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Sanju Samson’s IPL Record by Numbers
|
Matches |
Runs |
Balls |
Average |
Strike Rate |
High Score |
50s |
100s |
|
152 |
3888 |
2834 |
29.23 |
137.19 |
119 |
20 |
3 |
