The young wicket-keeper batsman, Sanju Samson started the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a couple of resounding half-centuries, playing for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). However, ever since Steve Smith and his men started playing outside Sharjah, Samson has failed to produce a decent knock. In fact, in his last three games in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Samson failed to even reach the double-digit mark.
In the last match against the Mumbai Indians (MI), Samson was dismissed on a duck. Trent Boult bowled a short-pitched delivery and cramped the batsman for room. All Samson could do was to lob the ball to MI skipper Rohit Sharma who was standing at mid-on. After his dismissal, RR was reeling at 12/3 while chasing the mammoth 194.
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In the meantime, Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, reckons that Samson has failed to do justice to his talent. The veteran feels that Sanju’s first-class average isn’t as good as it should be. At the first-class level, the youngster has scored 3,162 runs at an average of 37.64.
He has 10 centuries and 12 fifties under his belt and Manjrekar feels that Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, who both have impressive records in red-ball cricket, have a better record than Samson.
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He took to Twitter and wrote, “No matter what the format, I make it a point to look at a player’s FC record to get a general idea about the player. Something about Samson that’s always bothered me..his FC average is 37. In comparison, Mayank is 57 & Gill in his 21 matches a staggering 73.”
No matter what the format, I make it a point to look at a player's FC record to get a general idea about the player. Something about Samson that's always bothered me..his FC average is 37. In comparison, Mayank is 57 & Gill in his 21 matches a staggering 73.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 6, 2020
As far as Gill and Agarwal are concerned, both are playing in the IPL. Even as Mayank is weaving playing a crucial role for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), who are placed at the bottom of the points table, Gill is the highest run-scorer for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), led by Dinesh Karthik.
Among the three, Mayank has been the most established in Indian team, having played quite a few Tests since his debut in December 2018 against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Gill and Samson have played two ODIs and four T20Is respectively.
