India captain Rohit Sharma lavished unreservedly on the talent of Sanju Samson, who has been given a callback – and perhaps his last shot for a long international career – by the selectors for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. Samson last played when a second-string Indian side toured Sri Lanka in July last year.
Speaking on the eve of the first T20I, on Wednesday, in Lucknow, Rohit Sharma asserted that though Samson hasn’t been able to grab his opportunities in national colours so far, the Kerala batter has the skillset to succeed in Australian conditions, where this year’s T20 World Cup will be hosted, and hence he’s been given a recall.
Samson has played in 10 T20Is in the last six years. He has impressed in the IPL, showing his calibre – he’s scored over 370 runs in four of the last five seasons – and now also lead Rajasthan Royals, however, that hasn’t translated in international cricket with his highest score being 27.
Rohit emphasised on the management looking at his immense potential, and now it is up to Samson how he goes about in the upcoming series.
“That is the whole point about this sport. A lot of people have the skillset, a lot of people have the talent. But it’s how you utilise that talent that is the most critical part. I think it’s up to Sanju now to understand how he wants to utilise the talent and how he can maximise it,” the skipper said.
“Because as a team, as a team management, we see a lot of potential, we see a lot of talent, and we see a lot of match-winning ability in that individual. I hope we give him the confidence whenever he gets the opportunity to play for us. I hope he understands that.”
definitely in consideration [for Australia], which is why he is part of the team.”
