Sanju Samson
Rajasthan Royals' new captain Sanju Samson once again had a dream IPL start where he scored a ton against Punjab Kings his side's opening fixture. However, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman registered scores of 4, 1, and 21 in his next three, raising questions over his consistency with the bat.
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said people should avoid linking Samson's knocks with his future, adding that the Royals skipper has been struggling with consistency for many years. Manjrekar also highlighted Samson's mediocre average in first-class cricket. In 55 first-class matches, 26-year-old Samson has scored 3162 runs at an average of 37.64.
Samson's men have failed to inspire after registering their only win of the tournament, against Delhi Capitals in their second match. They're currently placed bottom in the points table with just two points.
"We shouldn't talk much about the future of Samson. A player should be appreciated when he does well on his day. We should shower praise on Samson's knocks but should avoid linking them with his future.
"Consistency has been Samson's problem for many years. His first-class average is in the 30s which clearly shows a lack of consistency with the bat," said Manjrekar.
Manjrekar also opined about Kuldeep Yadav's future and said that Kolkata Knight Riders should definitely consider the chinaman bowler. "KKR bowlers have been quite expensive so far. If they give chance to Kuldeep, he surely won't leak runs at this rate. He'll take a couple of wickets too.
"KKR backed Varun Chakravarthy instead of Kuldeep when they played in Chennai. Kuldeep shouldn't be KKR's go-bowler on turning pitches. Even bowlers like Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shahbaz Ahmed take wickets on turning pitches. On the other hand, bowlers like Kuldeep leave their mark on batting-friendly Wankhede pitches," he said.
