IPL 2025: Sanju Samson labels MS Dhoni irrelevant for Rajasthan Royals, gives his verdict on Virat Kohli too

Star India wicketkeeper Sanju Samson has spoken about playing against MS Dhoni. Samson has been in Dhoni's opposition team a no. of times in the Indian Premier League over the years. As a result, he knows what to expect from the legendary India captain.

Samson also shared his thoughts on Virat Kohli's famous cover drive. Kohli is one of the best exponents of a cover drive in the world currently. There are many batters who play eye-catching cover drives but Kohli has one of the most perfect drives one can ever play.

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Sanju Samson breaks silence on playing against MS Dhoni

While speaking on the YouTube Channel of sports journalist Vimal Kumar, Sanju Samson revealed that it is difficult to plan against a player of MS Dhoni's caliber. He added that the team tries to move on to the next batter whenever Dhoni's name pops up during the planning.

"It's difficult to plan against MS Dhoni. When Mahi bhai's name comes while planning, we say leave this check next one," Samson said.

Sanju Samson said, "it's difficult to plan against MS Dhoni. When Mahi bhai's name comes while planning, we say leave this check next one". (Vimal Kumar YT). pic.twitter.com/gcovDAlxAO

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 20, 2024

MS Dhoni is widely regarded as one of the best finishers the game of cricket has ever seen. Dhoni has won numerous matches for India as well as Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He played his last international match in the ODI World Cup 2019 semifinal against New Zealand.

MS Dhoni still playing for CSK

However, he is still an active player in the IPL and continues to entertain the crowd with his belligerent batting display. Dhoni has struggled with his fitness over the last few years and has limited his batting role.

He bats lower down the order and has been playing impactful innings for CSK. In the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction, he is likely to be retained by the franchise as an uncapped player since he has not played an international game for the last five years.

Sanju Samson hails Virat Kohli's cover drive

Meanwhile, in the same video, Sanju Samson was all praises for Virat Kohli's famous cover drive. He was asked about the batter with the best cover drive and had no hesitation in naming Virat Kohli.

"Virat (Kohli) bhai has the Best Cover Drive in the World," Samson added.

Sanju Samson said "Virat bhai has the Best Cover Drive in the World". [Vimal Kumar YT] pic.twitter.com/eAUCsZpaOE

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 20, 2024

Many greats in the world play picturesque cover drives but Kohli's shot still stands out among all of them. The 35-year-old might not be at the best time of his career but is still among the best in the world.

Virat Kohli is currently playing the three-match Test series against New Zealand. In the first Test, he registered scores of 0 and 70 across both the innings in a losing cause for India.