Ahead of India’s upcoming T20I series against South Africa, former cricketer Anil Kumble shared his thoughts on Men in Blue wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson’s recent performances, noting that he has lacked consistency. Samson made his T20I debut in 2015 against Zimbabwe and has since played 33 T20 matches, amassing 594 runs at a strike rate of 144.52. His T20I record includes one century and two fifties. In the third T20I match against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, Samson delivered an exceptional performance, scoring 111 runs off 47 balls at a strike rate of 236.17.
Speaking on JioCinema’s Insiders’ Preview ahead of the SA v IND T20I series, Kumble remarked that Samson’s century against Bangladesh would provide him with a significant boost in confidence.
“There’s been a lot of talk about keeping Sanju Samson in the team long-term, and that century he scored will certainly have given him a lot of confidence. We know the ability of Sanju Samson; he is a class act,” Kumble was quoted as saying in a release from Jio Cinema.
The former cricketer added that Samson could bring substantial value to the team if positioned at the top of the batting order.
“Consistency is a bit lacking, and I’m sure the Indian selectors are mindful of that. Placing him at the top of the innings, either at number one, two, or three, is where I believe he can truly add value to this team. He has strong backfoot play, plenty of time against fast bowlers, and can be devastating against spinners. It will be interesting to see how he handles those four matches in South Africa under those conditions,” he added.
The four-match T20I series between India and South Africa begins on November 8 at Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban.
St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth will host the second T20I on November 10, with the third game scheduled for SuperSport Park in Centurion on November 13. The series concludes with the fourth T20I at Wanderers Stadium on November 15.
India’s T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.
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