ComIt has been nine years since the young batsman Nju Samson caught the attention of world cricket with his unique stroke play and ease of crossing the ball. Sanju made his IPL debut in 2013 when he was just under 19 years old under Rahul Dravid. From then until today, Sanju has been making news after every innings. Even when the squad for the South African series was announced a few days ago, fans criticized the team selection for not including Sanju in the squad.
Such was the impact that Sanju Batter had made during his nine years in the IPL. One more thing to add to the list of neglect that Sanju has been facing in the Indian team since the beginning of his career. In his debut season in the IPL in 2013, Sanju, who scored 206 runs in 11 matches, including a half – century, told fans, “This guy is not wrong.” Sanju’s fans and Malayalees alike were overjoyed when MS Dhoni’s backup wicketkeeper was included in the Indian team that toured England in 2014 itself. Because Sanju’s name is on the radar of the Indian team. Sanju made his blue shirt debut in the following year’s Twenty20 match against Zimbabwe in Harare. It was the second and final match of the Twenty20 series. Following on Zimbabwe’s 146 – run target, Sanju scored just 19 off 24 balls, including a boundary. With just four wickets in hand, the team needed 29 off 15 balls to win the toss and elected to field. India lost the match by 10 runs. Sanju did not play for India for the next five years.
Despite his rise to prominence in the IPL and his frequent stellar innings, the Indian team has considered Sanju only five times during this period. After 2015, he was named in the squad for the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka in January 2020. Only one match played. It will be followed by two Twenty20 matches against New Zealand in February 2020. Three Twenty20s against Australia in December of the same year. Three Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka in July 2021. Two Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in February 2022. Only one ODI was played in total during this period. Against Sri Lanka in July 2021. That means he has played only 13 Twenty20 matches and one ODI so far. These are the opportunities that the team gives to a player who is often replaced due to instability.
In the case of Sanju, the fans are divided into two factions: Sanju’s outstanding performance in the IPL and Rishabh’s irresponsible playing opportunities on the other hand. Sanju, who joined the team in 2015, has played just 14 matches for India so far. But the ball, which reached the team in 2017 alone, has played 30 Tests, 24 ODIs, 43 Twenty20 matches and two World Cups during this period. It is not to be forgotten that the ball-playing winning innings were played on the Australian tour of the Tests. But one has to wonder if there is another player in the Indian team who has batted so irresponsibly in recent times. In how many matches has the ball played bad shots and come out without any responsibility.
It is for these reasons that Sanju Samson’s omission from the Twenty20 squad for the recent Twenty20 series against South Africa has angered fans. While senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jaspreet Bumra have been rested, there is a lot of hope that Sanju will get a chance this time around. Sanju, who was sidelined due to instability and poor shot selection, has done well this season as a captain and batsman. This time Sanju has scored 421 runs in 15 matches. The highlight of Sanju’s innings was the 421 runs that the team needed. Sanju’s 47 runs in the play – off against the Gujarat Titans last night were similar. Despite losing the match, Rajasthan batsmen were unbeaten on 47 off 26 balls with five sixes and three fours in the opening overs. Sanju has not been scoring runs on his own account this season. Instead the team was getting the runs they needed when they needed it. Harsha Bhogle and Irfan Pathan praised Sanju’s captaincy and batting. The performance of a group on this issue is that the IPL is not the criterion for selection to the Indian team. The question then is how Jaspreet Bumra, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Venkatesh Iyer all started playing in the blue shirt.
Ishant Kishan, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have been named in the squad for the series. It has to be understood that this is what blocked Sanju’s path. Sanju has scored more runs this season than any of the above three. Sanju has scored 421 runs in 15 games. Ishan Kishan is second. 418 runs from 14 games. The ball accounted for 340 runs. Dinesh Karthik scored 287 runs. Karthik, who crashes in death overs, cannot be compared to them. But for the other three, the pressure of the captaincy is on the ball and Sanju. Their performance is a testament to the pressure that Kishan’s innings put on the Mumbai Indians in the beginning. On the one hand the ball comes out playing irresponsible shots while on the other hand Sanju often gets out while playing for the team and trying to raise the score. Despite disappointing in the first few games, Sanju has done better.
If you look at the team for the South African series now, most likely K.L. Rahul and Ishant Kishan will play the role of openers. So Sanju had to be considered for the middle order. When that happens, Sanju will have to compete with Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. Karthik, who is shining in the finishing role in the IPL, will also be in the Indian team for that position. Now it remains to be seen whether Rituraj will give a chance to Gaikwad. With Kishan and Rahul there, the gaikwad will not get a chance for that position. The latter is the one-down position. One group asks if Sanju is a better option than considering a gay man for that position. It’s because of Sanju’s performance at number three. Sanju is the third highest run scorer in Twenty20 cricket in 2020. Sanju was the third highest scorer that year with 1251 runs from 38 innings. He also scored over 50 on 10 occasions. This time, Sanju started the season with 55 off 27 balls against Hyderabad. The next few matches were disappointing but Sanju shone whenever the team needed him.
As the Indian team remembers the performance in the last Twenty20 World Cup, Team India’s current priority is to prepare the team for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup in Australia. This is exactly what Rohit said months after he became the full – time captain of the Indian team. Rohit had said at the time that Sanju was part of the team’s plans as the game was in Australia. Rohit’s words were about Sanju’s excellence in shot making. But the neglect that Sanju is now facing in the South African series is shattering all those expectations.
Sanju’s double century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2019 helped him end his cricketing exile after the 2015 Zimbabwe Twenty20. In the match against Goa in October, Sanju hit a double century off 125 balls and was unbeaten on 212 off 129 balls with 21 fours and 10 sixes. It was also time for the Indian team to look for a replacement for Dhoni. It was also the time when Rishabh Pant, who was first selected for the position at that time, continued to perform poorly after a few early lightning bolts. Gautam Gambhir and Sunil Gavaskar, who were arguing at the time that Sanju should be given a chance instead of a consistently losing ball. After this, Sanju was given a chance in the series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia. Sanju’s fans claim that this was done in a way that gave them a chance. It can be expected that Sanju will once again claim his place in the team in the big innings by energizing the neglect he faced this time too.