IND vs PAK: Sanju Samson Is Going Through A Tough Phase- Saba Karim's Scintillating Revelation

With Sanju Samson struggling to cement his spot in the Indian team in any of the two white-ball formats, former India cricketer and national selector Saba Karim believes the wicketkeeper is set for the tough road ahead.

Sanju Samson continues to be well below the likes of KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan in the pecking order. When Rishabh Pant was sidelined after being involved in the horrific car accident, the Kerala star had the opportunity to cement his spot in the white-ball teams, especially in the T20I format. However, he has failed to do it so far.

He was a part of India’s ODI and T20I squads against West Indies but failed to impress. The team management made it clear that Kishan was ahead of his in the pecking order and his poor displays with the bat have only made things worse for him.

He failed to find a place in the playing eleven for the first ODI before he scored 9 runs in his comeback game. In the third ODI, he played a 51-run knock but it was followed by three failures in a row in the T20I series. The wicketkeeper-batsman had the opportunity to impress the selectors by doing well in pressure situations but he could only manage to register scores of 12, 7, and 13.

Saba Karim on Sanju Samson’s future:

With Sanju Samson consistently failing to grab his chances, Saba Karim has said that the wicketkeeper is set to have a tough road ahead. With KL Rahul returning to the ODI team for the Asia Cup, Sanju Samson failed to find a spot in the team. He, however, has been named as a backup wicketkeeper due to a minor injury to Rahul.

“It is a tough phase for Sanju Samson, let us admit that first, because now it seems in the pecking order you have KL Rahul, then you have Ishan Kishan, and then comes Sanju Samson,” Saba Karim told JioCinema.

“It’s also the way he looks at his future in international cricket. Does he look at himself as a wicketkeeper-batter or does he think of himself as a batter? The kind of potential he has, everybody knows he is so gifted,” he added.

Speaking further, Saba Karim said that while questions are being raised on the player’s consistency, he has not been given ample chances by the selectors. The former cricketer also advised the struggling player to work on his wicketkeeping and urged him to be more consistent with the bat.

“At times, there has been some kind of question mark over his consistency. Having said that, I do believe that he hasn’t got a long rope from the selectors due to different circumstances.

“The road ahead for him is to number one work hard on his wicketkeeping if he wants to be considered as a wicketkeeper-batter. There are some areas of concern for him but with the kind of talent he has, if he works hard, goes back to the drawing board, I am sure he will be a much better keeper next time around.

“In terms of his batting, he has to continue with this similar kind of intensity, be more consistent, but I think impactful is more important. That’s what we require from Sanju Samson going forward,” said Saba Karim.