Sanju Samson’s cricket journey has always been swinging amidst hope and disappointment. Samson, who made his debut for the Indian team in 2015, proved that he has a class by performing brilliantly in almost a decade, but still he could not find a permanent place in the team. After the 2024 T20 World Cup, when it felt that his luck has finally changed, the story remained the same as before-the opportunity was limited despite being in form.
By 2023, Samson had played only 24 T20 matches. After the 2024 World Cup, when Gautam Gambhir became the coach of Team India, he gave Samson continuously opportunities in the opening. Samson also responded to the performance. Samson showed three centuries and two half -centuries in five months and showed that India had got a trusted opener. His two centuries came against South Africa and one against Bangladesh.
But the team combination changed in the Asia Cup. Shubman Gill was given the responsibility of opening, making the vice -captain, and Samson was sent to the middle order. This change proved to be a setback for Samson. He did not even get a chance to bat in many matches. When found, he played useful innings in limited occasions, especially when India lost three wickets for 20 runs in the final. In that difficult situation, Samson shared a 57 -run partnership with Tilak Verma and handled the team.
After this it was expected that he would get a chance in the ODI team. There was no presence of any permanent wicketkeeper other than KL Rahul, so the possibility of selection of Samson was considered strong. But the selectors ignored him and made Dhruv Jurlel a backup wicketkeeper. A player who has not yet made her debut in ODIs. This decision was shocking for both fans and cricket experts, as Samson’s ODI record is quite good. He has scored an average of 56 in 16 matches, including a century and three half -centuries.
Sanju’s career has always been a similar way. They are shocked after a good season. He was India’s top run scorer at the Under-19 World Cup 2014, his power hitting caught everyone’s attention. On the basis of the same performance, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL in 2013 itself. He made his mark with a good performance in the initial years, but was constantly ignored internationally.
Now that he is 30 years old, his form is better than before, but his role in the team is not clear. In the middle order, the contest with players like Jitesh Sharma has increased. If Samson is not able to score continuously on this position, it can be difficult to remain in the playing-11 despite the three centuries.
The selection for the next year’s T20 World Cup in India will definitely be a big twist for Samson. The question is whether they will get their favorite opening position again or will the team limit them to the middle order. The situation in ODIs is even more difficult, because Rishabh Pant is on the path of return and the team management considers Rahul to be the first choice.
For Sanju Samson, every match, every innings is like an exam. They have talent, experience and patience, but this is not enough in Indian cricket. Here continuity and the trust of the selectors decide the career and this is the thing that Samson has not fully found till date.