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IND vs SL | Rohit Sharma hints at longer rope for 'talented' Sanju Samson

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has backed Sanju Samson in the run-up to the T20 World Cup scheduled to be hosted in Australia later this year. The Rajasthan Royals captain, who does not find a regular place in the Indian XI at the moment, was in exceptional form in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League raking up 484 runs at a strike rate of 137.

Named in the Indian squad against Sri Lanka, Samson will get yet another opportunity in the Indian set-up to do justice to his talent. Asked about the same, Rohit Sharma revealed that Samson is in India’s plans going into the T20 WC for the large skillset he brings into the game.

“His backfoot play is superb. Some of his shots, you must have seen during the IPL, the pick-up pull, the cut shots, standing and delivering over bowler’s head – those types of shots are not easy to play. When you go to Australia, you need those kinds of shot-making abilities and Samson definitely has it in him,” Rohit explained.

Samson has divided opinions amongst fans and critics for his inconsistency and getting out to poor shots despite looking good in the crease. Sharma too pointed out the same in his pre-match press conference and stated that Samson needs to come good when chances are given to him, since there is a lot of competition in the team.

“Now, that’s the whole point about this spot. A lot of people have the skillset, a lot of people have talent. I think it’s up to Sanju how he utilises his talent and how he can maximize it,” the captain said.

Samson has seen a visible shift in his T20 game since taking on the captaincy of Rajasthan Royals. He has visibly put more price on his wicket and has played longer innings albeit at the sacrifice of his strike rate.

Samson has stiff competition in the Indian batting line-up with Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan already ahead of him in the pecking order. Barring the two belligerent batsmen, India also have another batter-keeper option in senior pro KL Rahul who more or less is an automatic selection in the first XI.

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