Team India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has shared his aspiration to play Tests for India. He further shared that the leadership group asked him to focus on red-ball cricket as well. The veteran batter scored a brilliant century for India D in the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy against an India B attack, playing against Test bowlers like Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Washington Sundar. Samson also finished the tournament with 196 runs which came at an average of 49 and a strike rate of almost 96 in two outings as well.

In a media interaction on Tuesday (October 15), Samson was quoted by Sportstar as saying: “I believe I have the skillset to succeed in red ball cricket and I just don’t want myself to be restricted to just white ball cricket. My desire is to play Test cricket for India. Before the Duleep Trophy, the leadership group had told me that they were considering me for red ball cricket and asked me to take it seriously and play more Ranji Trophy matches.”

“My preparation was good this time around. After the series against Sri Lanka I trained at the RR Academy with Rahul Dravid Sir and Zubin Bharucha and worked on my game. The century in the Duleep Trophy has given me a lot of confidence as it came against some of the best bowlers in the country,” he again shared.

Sanju Samson also thanked India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir for backing him despite having a string of low scores in the shortest format as well.

“Surya is a good communicator and there is clarity in what he wants from the players. He is a good leader and players trust him. Gautham bhai has always supported and backed me. When you have someone as a coach who believes in your ability, playing cricket becomes more enjoyable. Normally when you play for India you are not sure of your role. But this time I was told three weeks in advance that I would be playing the series against Bangladesh as an opener. I was mentally prepared for the new role,” Sanju Samson concluded.