Sanju Samson challenges Gautam Gambhir for inclusion in India's team

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has recently spoken about his favorite format of the game. Samson expressed his desire to play Test cricket for India and claimed that the multiple-day format is his all-time favorite.

Sanju Samson has been in and around India's white-ball teams over the years. The talented right-hander has played both the ODIs and T20Is for India. However, his place in India's first choice Playing XI is still not confirmed.

In his last international match, Samson smashed a breathtaking hundred against Bangladesh in the third and final T20I of the series. The right-hander scored 111 off just 47 balls to help India clinch a convincing win over the visitors.

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Sanju Samson breaks silence on playing Test cricket for India

Sanju Samson recently had an interview with the sports journalist Vimal Kumar. The interview was uploaded to the journalist's YouTube channel. During the interview, Samson spoke about his intentions of playing Test cricket for India.

He claimed that Test cricket is the most difficult format as it takes so much out of a player. He further added that the quality of a player is checked through the longest format of the game only.

"I enjoy playing Test cricket the most. You can’t have the feel of playing Test cricket anywhere else. (Wo poora aapko nichod leta hai)It takes so much out of you. The real quality of a cricketer is visible in Test cricket," Samson said.

The wicketkeeper-batter further mentioned the hard work involved in playing the red-ball format. He spoke about playing Ranji Trophy for Kerala whenever he gets a chance to play domestic cricket.

"There is hard work of five days, mental toughness, physical toughness, and there is a lot of fun in it. Whenever I get a chance, I come and play Ranji Trophy for Kerala because it squeezes you completely for 4 days in Ranji cricket. So it takes a lot of hard work. When you get success in it after working so hard, it gives great pleasure," he added.

"Mann ke andar he rakhta hoon" - Sanju Samson on his desire for Test cricket

The 29-year-old further expressed his desire to play Tests for India in the future which is a dream for him. He wants to perform well for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy and stake a claim for a spot in the Test team.

“I have been wanting to play Test cricket since childhood. Mai bolta nahi hoon itna, Mann ke andar he rakhta hoon (I don’t say this much, I keep it in my mind), but I have always wanted to play Test cricket for my country. So let’s see what’s ahead," he added.

After the third T20I against Bangladesh, Sanju Samson revealed to the host broadcaster that he will play Kerala's next Ranji Trophy against Karnataka. True to his words, he played the game too. Unfortunately, the match at Alur, Karnataka was washed out due to excessive rain.

Only 50 overs were possible in the match with Kerala scoring 161-3. Samson remained unbeaten on 15 off 13 balls with 2 fours and 1 six.

Sanju Samson's first-class record

Sanju Samson has played 65 first-class matches for Kerala and scored 3834 runs at an average of 39.12. The wicketkeeper-batter has smashed 11 hundreds and 16 fifties in first-class cricket so far.