Sunil Gavaskar has expressed disappointment with Sanju Samson as the Rajasthan Royals captain, once again, failed to get a good score.
Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain has expressed disappointment with Sanju Samson as the Rajasthan Royals captain, once again, failed to get a good score in Match 16 of the IPL 2021 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sanju Samson, who began the season with a superlative century against Punjab Kings, scoring 119 in a losing cause, followed it with low scores of 4, 1, and 21.
Sunil Gavaskar: Sanju Samson’s Inconsistency A Reason Behind His Omission In Indian Team
Against RCB on Friday, with RR reduced to 18/3, Sanju Samson got a start, hitting two boundaries and later a six-off spinner Washington Sundar, before perishing the next ball, out lobbing a simple catch to opposition skipper Virat Kohli at mid-wicket. Sunil Gavaskar was not pleased with Sanju Samson’s low scores, calling his inconsistency a problem for him and the team.
“First and foremost, the captain has to stand up and deliver. He did it in the first game but that has been the problem with him. That is one of the reasons why he has not been featuring in the Indian team is that he scores runs in one game and then he looks to do it and carry on as if he’s batting in the next game from the same game, and that’s how he keeps getting out,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.
Sanju Samson, who has made seven appearances for India in T20 cricket, produced an early contender for the innings of the tournament during Rajasthan Royals’ IPL defeat to Punjab Kings last week.
Sunil Gavaskar: Rajasthan Royals Have No Designated Finishers And The Skipper Sanju Samson Must Score Runs In Ben Stokes Absence
Sunil Gavaskar added that Sanju Samson scoring is imperative to RR’s chances of getting a good total, believing that the captain is a key member of their top order, especially now that Ben Stokes has been ruled out from the remainder of IPL 2021 due to a broken finger. Sunil Gavaskar feels Sanju Samson getting runs becomes all the more crucial, as the Royals have no designated finisher.
“So therefore, I think if the captain leads by example, the captain scores runs because he is the one class act in the team… yes there is David Miller, there is Chris Morris who can come in and smash a few but at the top of the order, they need to get it right because what happens is that they have a little problem at No 5, 6 and 7. They don’t really have any finishers and that is the reason it is so important that the captain at the top of the order gets you lots of runs,” Gavaskar pointed out.
The 26-year-old smashed 119 from 63 balls – with 12 fours and seven sixes – as Rajasthan fell agonizingly short of Punjab’s 221-6 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He scored the first ton in IPL 2021.
Sanju Samson was appointed as the captain of the Royals before the IPL 2021 after the former champions released Australia star, Steve Smith. Sanju Samson, who made his India debut as early as 2015, has not managed to find a permanent spot in the Indian team but there are no doubts about his talent.
Sanju Samson’s contributions for Rajasthan will be of even greater importance this season as England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the tournament with a finger injury. Ben Stokes faces up to three months on the sidelines after breaking his finger in the Royals’ 1st game.