Biju George, the childhood coach of Sanju Samson, has stood up for Rishabh Pant against the hatred, criticism, and trolling the 25-year-old left-hander has received over the recent months on social media.
Every time Sanju Samson is dropped from the Indian team, there is a furor on social media. And a section of fans regularly target Rishabh Pant and even accuse BCCI of discrimination against Samson because he is Catholic Malayali and belongs to Kerala.
Biju George admitted that Pant and the BCCI are unnecessarily and unfairly targeted by Samson’s fans.
“What I am not liking is how the Mallu crowd is putting Sanju Samson against BCCI, and belittling Rishabh Pant. It is very wrong and not at all on. Political leaders in Kerala think cricket is another game of politics and are saying Sanju is victimised,” Biju said on CricketNext.
When asked of any discrimination in the Indian team, Biju quipped, “No, not at all. I don’t believe so and it’s just that circumstances are not working in his favour. He is not being deliberately targeted. I don’t think anybody in the Indian cricketing system would be deliberately targeted. Somebody like a VVS Laxman is the coach [for the New Zealand tour], I don’t see that happening.”
Biju, who has spent a significant amount of time with Pant as Delhi Capitals’ fielding coach, asserted that Pant has earned his place in the Indian team with big, match-winning performances over the last couple of years. Biju added that Samson is also good enough to get in the Indian team purely as a batter and doesn’t need to contest for a place with Pant.
“Now what’s happening on social media is that people are turning against Rishabh Pant for no reason. Pant is there because he has performed over a long period of time. And see there is no clash between Pant and Sanju Samson. Samson has been playing and can play for India as a pure batter. Pant’s keeping skills are very good.
“If you look over a period of time, Pant has not done a major lapse or fumble behind the stumps. He has come good for India in both red and white ball over a long period of time. He might have a slump now… When you talk about impact players like Adam Gilchrist or Virender Sehwag. They must get a levy to fail,” Biju added.
