Former Sri Lanka skipper, Kumar Sangakkara has opined that he wants to see Sanju Samson getting a long run in the India team after the wicket-keeper batter was named for the T20I series. Samson, who has been in and out of India’s squad, received a call-up in the T20I squad for the Sri Lanka series. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, India will be hosting Sri Lanka in a three-match series, beginning January 3.

As per the reports in PTI, during an interaction organized by Star Sports, Kumar Sangakkara said, “I want to see Sanju getting a long run in this Indian side because he is a very special player. They have got a good mixture of pace, spin, and utility players. It will be a tough challenge for Sri Lanka but in T20 they have tools to match them.”

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Along with Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad has also been recalled into India’s T20I squad. Talking about Gaikwad, Sangakkara said: “I love watching Ruturaj Gaikwad’s batting and he is one player who can bat correctly and yet have enormous impact in T20 cricket.”

When the Indian squads were announced for the Sri Lanka series, there was a surprise exclusion of wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant from both the ODI and T20I squads. However, Sangakkara feels that Pant needs to improve his keeping more than batting.

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Elaborating the same, Kumar Sangakkara said, “I think for one Rishabh Pant can improve his wicketkeeping quite a bit. A lot of people only concentrate on his batting, and it is a combination of the two that increases confidence. I know it is hard and boring but he can really become good by concentrating on smaller moments and that, in turn, will help him in white ball cricket, and then he will become the keeper he is expected to become.”