Sanju Samson declares start of ‘villain arc’ after Gautam Gambhir demotes him in batting order
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Sanju Samson dropped a major update on him enjoying his new role in the Indian team, while he also opines that trying out new positions is not a bad idea, since, after having played for India for over a decade, he cannot be selfishly looking to only feature as a top-order batsman, since he has gotten runs at the top.
Though for India and many of the players in the Asia Cup squad, this tournament has been a perfect start to their T20 World Cup preparations. Such players would include names like Kuldeep Yadav and Abhishek Sharma; however, Sanju Samson has been very unfortunate with limited opportunities to showcase his calibre.
Ahead of the Asia Cup, vice-captain Shubman Gill returned to the side, which meant Sanju Samson would lose his opening role. He was then expected as well as reported to play in the middle order; however, Gautam Gambhir has now not been considering him even in the middle order. Samson has had only 2 batting innings after 5 games in this Asia Cup.
Sanju Samson reveals 'enjoying new role' in interview with Sanjay Manjrekar
Former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar went on for an engaging chat session with Indian wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson. Here are the glimpses from the same conversation.
"Tell us about your personal journey. With the bat and your work behind the stumps as well," asked Manjrekar.
"I am really enjoying both the roles; it's a bit different batting at no. 5 and coming to do a different role. To be very honest, I think I have received some really honest feedback from my Captain and coach; the communication has to be clear, and that has been very clear right from the start of the tournament," Sanju said on his new role.
"They told me it's a bit different role for you, but we know that you do have the game to go out there and make a contribution. So from my angle, I am just looking to take a few balls and get my eyes set and then put in a positive contribution," he thanks the Captain and coach for transparency on his role in the side.
"Try and hit those few sixes and make an impact. The things I used to do, however, sometimes come out, while on some days they don't. So, having that acceptance also really helps," he further added.
Sanjay Manjrekar's fun chat with Sanju Samson marks the Cricketer's smooth transition to his villain arc
"Enough of those easy questions; now one final question. You have got three T20 international hundreds, all three coming at the opening position. That's it!" Sanjay Manjrekar poked fun at the Indian batter.
He continued, "So, which is the position you are most comfortable batting in?"
"To be very honest, I think recently our Lalettan Mohanlal, you know, the cinema actor from Kerala. Recently, he got a very big award from the country. I think he has been acting for more than 40 years," Samson stated.
He further stated, "I too have been playing for my country for the last 10 years, so I cannot always be playing in a hero role; I need to adapt to different roles like being the villain or the joker, and I need to play around."
"You cannot say that you have scored runs in the opening, so you are good only at the top 3. Let me try this also; no one can say that. I might be a good villain as well. So let's see how it goes," the Indian wicket-keeper concluded.
Sanju Samson’s villain arc loading… 🦹♂️🔥
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Sanju Samson did not get to Bat against Bangladesh despite the loss of 6 wickets
Though Sanju Samson has voiced in favour of the Indian captain and the coach for maintaining transparency with the player on his role and his position in the Indian batting order. It has been noted that Sanju has not yet been assigned a fixed spot in the batting lineup for the Asia Cup.
The batter has batted on two occasions, of which one was at no. 3 against Oman, while the other was down the order at no. 5 against Pakistan in the last game. However, today against Bangladesh, Sanju was pushed down to no. 8 and did not come out to bat till the end of India's 20 overs.
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India National Cricket Team Sanju Samson India vs Bangladesh Asia Cup Gautam Gambhir Suryakumar Yadav Sanjay Manjrekar Bangladesh National Cricket Team
