‘It felt as if he is god’s gift to Indian cricket’, Ex-India opener on Sanju Samson’s “cult following”
Sanju Samson remains an enigma. Despite all his exploits in the IPL and in Kerala, the India batsman has not been able to replicate the same success and consistency for the national team. In the last one year, Samson has struggled to break into the Indian team, let alone be a part of the playing XI.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra takes a dig at Sanju conundrum, explaining how he didn’t seize his opportunity with the Indian team –
Chopra told YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia on ‘TRS Clips’ – “Indian cricket is interesting. Like it or hate it, but the fact is that the atmosphere creates perception, and that is sometimes stronger than the truth. Sanju has a cult following – we live in a digital world. Where he comes from, it is very obvious that place and region has a digital presence.”
Chopra added – “When he plays well, he makes batting look easy. He is pleasing on the eyes, took his team to Ranji final, IPL final. Got some opportunities for India but didn’t make the most of it. And this is a reality that fans do not understand. Sanju realises it that he is going to get limited opportunities in the current set-up.”
Chopra further said – “There is just no place in the XI. Ishan Kishan scored a double century and yet we didn’t give him the next few matches. When he did, he was asked to bat at No. 5. There isn’t a place. And it’s not because KL Rahul wasn’t available. Had he been available, he would have still sat out. So that is the level of quality that is available. When the opportunity comes, just grab it away. If you throw it away for whatever reason, then you regret.”
Chopra further added –
“During the Sanju Samson, phase it felt as if he is god’s gift to Indian cricket. People said ‘Play him and everything will fall in place. We would have even won the World Cup final’. They wouldn’t realise that the bowlers had an off day or that Karthik or Pant would have played in front of him. But in reality, his batting wouldn’t have made any difference. The atmosphere was such that if Samson had played, we could have done this and that.”
