He's Working Very Hard: Sunil Gavaskar Hails Sanju Samson's Improved Work Ethic Post His 32-Ball 74

Sanju Samson once again gave an account of his outrageous talent during the Rajasthan Royals opening game of the 2020 Dream11 IPL as he smoked the Chennai Super Kings bowling unit with a breathtaking 32-ball 74- an innings which included just one four but nine monstrous sixes.

Samson was particularly lethal against CSK’s spin-bowling duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla. After greeting Jadeja with back-to-back sixes, the Kerala swashbuckler laid into veteran Chawla, taking him for 28 runs in his first over. It was ‘stand and deliver approach’ at its absolute best by Samson. Anything in his arc was either thumped down the ground or walloped over extra-cover. It was a display of pure cricketing strokeplay showcasing Sanju’s talent in its full flight.

Sanju’s 32-ball 74 coupled with a brilliant half-century from skipper Steve Smith and a last-over assault by Jofra Archer propelled RR to 7-216 in 20 overs, which they eventually defended as CSK fell 16 short of the target.

Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen in awe of Sanju Samson

Social media and former cricketers including former Indian openers Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Gavaskar and the former English international  Kevin Pietersen have heaped high praise on Samson. Sunil Gavaskar feels that Sanju has subtle changes in his work ethics and fitness besides bringing improvement in his glovework, adding that the Kerala cricketer is slogging his backside off to be a permanent member of the Indian side.

“Unbelievable, he [Sanju Samson] has always had the talent and as he was telling us at the presentation where he won the MoM award that the last few months he has worked very hard. He’s tried to stay fit, he has controlled his diet, he has his eyes set to play for India. To be a permanent member in the Indian side. As a batsman, he has always been very good, as a wicketkeeper there has been a little question mark. But he was very alert very agile at the stumps this time. Batsman has played a long innings then he comes to keep, it’s not very easy. It shows that his stamina has increased,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Star Sports post-match show.

Kevin Pietersen hoped that Samson maintains his form in the rest of the season and eventually a permanent spot in the national team.

“I’d just like to say that he [Sanju Samson] hasn’t had a long Indian career but the kind of performance he has put up, how many times has he played like he played tonight in the Indian Premier League! He just keeps getting better. If he continues or can continue this consistency I mean he can come up to England and play a lot this winter, a lot of white ball and red ball stuff. It’s a busy season so let’s just hope he does continue,” Pietersen said.

Also Read- My Game Plan Was Stand And Deliver: Sanju Samson