'People Call Me The Unlikeliest Cricketer..'- Sanju Samson Reacts
Published - 24 Nov 2023, 11:43 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:23 AM
Sanju Samson‘s absence from India’s T20I squad for the ongoing series against Australia raised a number of eyebrows. With most of the senior and first-choice players rested for the series that began just three days after the World Cup, the wicketkeeper-batsman was widely expected to make it to the team.
Before the World Cup, he was regularly getting chances in the ODI and the T20I teams and was also picked as a traveling reserve for the Asia Cup. Things, however, have not unfolded in an expected manner for the Kerala star since then. He failed to find a place in the ODI team for the home series against Australia just before the World Cup and also failed to make the cut for the Asian Games where a second-string team was picked.
Earlier this week, he suffered another setback as the selectors decided against picking him in the squad for the ongoing T20I series. The selectors picked Ishan Kishan and inexperienced Jitesh Sharma in the squad as the wicketkeepers, making many believe that Sanju Samson is no more in the scheme of things.
Sanju Samson on being unlucky:
The way Sanju Samson’s international career has panned out so far, the fans and experts believe that he is one of the most unluckiest cricketers. After bursting onto the scene as a teenage prodigy, he earned his maiden India call-up way back in 2014 but has failed to cement his spot in the Indian team so far.
In almost a decade since his maiden India call-up, he has played just 13 ODIs and 24 T20Is despite doing well consistently in IPL. However, Sanju Samson himself does not believe that he is unlucky and has said that he has already achieved more than he had thought of achieving.
“People call me the unlikeliest cricketer, but where I’ve reached currently, it’s much more than what I thought I could,” Sanju Samson told Dhanya Varma.
Team India’s next assignment is in South Africa where they are scheduled to play 2 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20Is. With the T20 World Cup lined up next year, Sanju Samson will be hoping to earn a recall and get a chance to prove himself.
