Finally, Sanju Samson wins acceptance

These are hot times in the country. The mercury is sizzling and most parts of the country face an oppressive summer. This is also a hot period for cricket in India. The Indian Premier League continues to keep interest high even as each of the ten teams maintains its earnestness to get counted in the final analysis. The IPL’s business end is fast approaching. In this midst came a minor heat wave that did not produce the expected hot reactions though, the selection of the Indian cricket team for the ensuing T20 World Cup to be hosted by the USA and West Indies.

Perhaps the most debated issue in sports in India can be said to be the selection of the national team in cricket! Reactions come from all over and not just the cricket experts including past players, both in India and overseas! As always everybody can never be satisfied by the Selectors' effort nor it must be said, every player so eager to get the nod! More so now with the IPL on and several of the young talents doing their bit with the bat and the ball to gain the attention of the people who matter, as also the fans who are the ones who catapult them to the level of heroes. So, this time’s selection had a quota of heartbreaks, even if few,  but no player gained the centre of attention as much as Rinku Singh, the UP player who dons the KKR colours in the IPL.

Rinku is already a crowd favourite and any captain’s delight for the kind of sparkle he lends to his batting in keeping with the demands of the shorter version. The left-hander’s strike rate has been impressive and this was further endorsed in the IPL  Past cricketers of standing believe Rinku is an asset and has to be fitted into the team to beef up the middle order and also for taking up the role of a finisher.  Not since Dhoni has a player risen to that level as Rinku has to perform that role with aplomb, so it is believed. Yet in the mechanics of team selection, as the Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar and Captain Rohit Sharma were at pains to explain sometimes there comes the need to compromise such an exciting batter. Rinku’s ill luck!

Perhaps the most curious reaction of all came from not an Indian but a veteran from Australia, Matthew Hayden, a member of two World Cup-winning Australian teams, who wondered if India thought it could aspire to win the T20 World Cup with someone like Virat Kohli in the ranks. What made him pick on Kohli seemed a surprise, considering the form of this former Indian captain and currently the most followed player in the country but his thinking had to do with the way bright talents have sprung up in India and why they should not be utilised. His thoughts were on the 4-1 win that India had scored over Australia in the five-match T20 series at home with Suryakumar Yadav as captain and sparklers like Rinku and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the batting lineup. Hayden’s opinion did not catch up with others and seemed more like a message to the BCCI. 

Be that as it may, if there was one player who could cross all that doubts and uncertainties, it must be said, had to be Sanju Samson, the Kerala man. Much positive has surrounded his activities in recent times, in particular the IPL where he leads the Rajasthan Royals, currently the leader on the points table. For these happy tidings, Samson has had a big role to play.  Not only did his stroke-filled batting display earn praise and prove effective at crucial times, but his captaincy too gained attention. Phlegmatic is what Samson is but yet for all this, this Kerala player has more often than not been on the omission list when it came to picking the national squad. The good thing is that for one who made his debut nearly nine years ago (against Zimbabwe), he always had the self-belief that he was good enough to be on the national side. 

Not a surprise then that his state senior S. Sreesanth, the last big name from Kerala to have been on the national scene when asked about Samson’s selection on the Television discussion panel felt that he should be picked up for the first eleven ahead of Rishabh Pant. Such was his admiration for his younger colleague’s potential as a batter and a leader.  If anyone wondered if he had better credentials than K.L. Rahul whom he had replaced in the middle order, then this latest edition of IPL has answered that. With 385 runs from nine matches with an impressive strike rate of over 161, it would have been difficult to ignore him.  And there are more matches to go.

True, his detractors would point to his tendency to lose consistency.  Last IPL had seen this but his Rajasthan Royals team management would vouch for the sound role he has thus far played. The way he planned his innings and the way he handled the spinners all had the mark of one who was high on confidence. Add to that his ability to come with sixes just when the opposition seemed to get control, enhanced his value.   Suffice it to state, that Samson has been provided an opportunity, a platform to exhibit all the skills that he has displayed thus far. It has been a dream run and the expectations are high should he get the chance to be in the middle.