IPL 2020: Sanju Samson has improved in all aspects, worked very hard ahead of this season, says Sunil Gavaskar 

IPL 2020: Cricket experts Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen have batted for Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson, who scored a match-winning 74 against Chennai Super Kings, to seal a permanent spot in the Indian cricket team. 

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Sanju Samson scored a match-winning 74 against CSK. (Courtesy of BCCI)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Sanju Samson earned a lot of praises for his performance against CSK
  • Gavaskar and Pietersen have batted for Samson's Team India role
  • Samson scored a match-winning 74 in RR's IPL 2020 opener

MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings started off their IPL 2020 campaign with a convincing win against Mumbai Indians on September 19. However, they lost their 2nd Indian Premier League fixture of the season to Steve Smith’s Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson earned the Man of the Match award for his valiant 74 runs off 32 deliveries as Rajasthan won their IPL 2020 opener by a convincing margin of 16 runs.

Quite naturally, Sanju Samson earned a lot of praise for his performance after young IPL debutat Yashasvi Jaiswal got out early in the clash against CSK at Sharjah. Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was in awe of Samson and has batted for a permanent Team India role.

“Unbelievable, he [Sanju Samson] has always had the talent and as he was telling us at the presentation where he won the MoM award that the last few months he has worked very hard. He’s tried to stay fit, he has controlled his diet, he has his eyes set to play for India. To be a permanent member in the Indian side. As a batsman, he has always been very good, as a wicketkeeper there has been a little question mark. But he was very alert very agile at the stumps this time. Batsman has played a long innings then he comes to keep, it’s not very easy. It shows that his stamina has increased,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports, post the game.

Veteran England batsman Kevin Pietersen, too, heaped praises on the wicketkeeper batsman for his thunderous match-winning innings against CSK.

“I’d just like to say that he [Sanju Samson] hasn’t had a long Indian career but the kind of performance he has put up, how many times has he played like he played tonight in the Indian Premier League! He just keeps getting better. If he continues or can continue this consistency I mean he can come up to England and play a lot this winter, a lot of white ball and red ball stuff. It’s a busy season so let’s just hope he does continue,” Pietersen said.

Steve Smith, who opened an innings for the first time in his entire career, scored a 47-ball 69 and secured a win for his IPL team on September 22.

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Posted byAkshay Ramesh