The inclusion of Sanju Samson in the 15-member India squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, has met expectations and brought excitement in the batting department. The Kerala batter has the skill of playing both defensive and attacking cricket, according to the situation of the game.
In this ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the Rajasthan Royals captain is the seventh-highest run-getter of the tournament with 385 runs in nine innings, at an average of 77, and a strike rate of 161.08, including four half-centuries.
In the last game of the Royals against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Samson found his team under all sorts of pressure at 78/3. He took a few balls at the beginning, and later displayed his aggressive brand of the game with an unbeaten 71-run knock in 33 balls, in an undefeated 121-run partnership with Dhruv Jurel.
‘We definitely were thinking about it’- Sanju Samson on batting at No. 5
Even though the wicket-keeper batter comes at one-down for the Royals, in the Indian team, he might be required to bat in the middle order. It’s interesting how Sanju Samson changes his mindset and bats at number 5, where he may need to go for a few big shots from the start of his knock.
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If India goes with Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Rohit Sharma in the opening position, with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav to follow at number three and four respectively, then the toss-up will be between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant to bat at five.
Whereas, Kohli’s opening will increase the chances of Sanju Samson batting at number five. The IPL veteran himself informed me about his batting position in the Indian team.
‘That’s a very tricky question.’ Samson told to Star Sports.
‘We definitely were thinking about it; everyone is thinking about the batting positions.’ The 29-year-old expressed. ‘Sanju Kahan batting karega? (Where will Sanju bat?).’
When it comes to batting at number 4, Samson has notched up 685 IPL runs in 36 innings at an average of just 21.4 and a strike rate of 127.3 with a couple of fifties. He has batted only thrice at number five to manage just 34 IPL runs at a strike rate of 136.
The best and most favorable position for Sanju Samson is at three, where he has smashed 2827 IPL runs in 84 innings at a strike rate of 144 with 19 fifties and three centuries.
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On the slow and low pitches of the West Indies and probably in the United States of America, the slow low tracks will give the batter a chance to display his skills.
Since the start of 2020, Samson has cracked the most sixes (110) in the IPL, with KL Rahul sitting at number two with 102 over-boundaries.
Rohit Sharma-led India team will begin their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign on June 05 against Ireland, at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
