“Big Shoes To Fill”: Sanju Samson On Replacing MS Dhoni As Team India Wicket-Keeper

Sanju Samson played a sensational knock in the inaugural match for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2020. His knock was the difference between the two sides as it helped the Jaipur franchise clinch victory over MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK). With the performance, Samson opened up debate on him replacing MS Dhoni as India’s first choice wicket-keeper in limited-overs.

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are in race to be the regular wicket-keeper batsman in the limited-overs format. Samson believes MS Dhoni’s shoes are big to fill in as he has set benchmark very high for wicket-keepers all around the world in terms of keeping skills and finishing ability with the bat.

“They’re big shoes to fill. He’s set the benchmark so high for keepers around the world, in terms of keeping skills and finishing abilities with the bat. Every country hopes their wicketkeeper can somehow turn out to be like Dhoni. In India, we have some really good wicketkeeper-batsmen,” Sanju Samson told Hindustan Times.

“There is healthy competition both in the India side and domestically. Whoever comes in knows what a massive responsibility it is. (The choices) is a good headache for the team to have. For me, it’s a good position to be in because the competition forces you to improve. It will benefit the team in the long run, to have players on top of their game at all times,” he added.

Kerala wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson broke into the Indian team through his consistent performances in the IPL. Samson, however, failed to replicate his form in the few chances he got to play for the national team.

Samson received his T20I cap for India in 2015 against Zimbabwe. He has played four matches in the shortest format, scoring 35 runs, which has seen him being dropped out of the side. Samson, 29, has played 55 matches for Kerala in domestic cricket, scoring 3162 runs, at an average of 37.64.