Time to Hit Back Some Form Captain Samson!
Samson's form is a cause of worry for Rajasthan [AP Photos]
With 47 games competed and another 27 to go, the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League is now in its business end.
Any team weaknesses must be urgently addressed and teams must only focus on growing from one positive to another.
And while not an awful lot is going right or as to plans, whether for the Delhi Capitals or the Sunrisers Hyderabad, one reckons the top tier teams, as far as current performances are concerned, can still correct some woes.
And where it comes to the top four in the 2023 edition, then you can’t simply ignore the Rajasthan Royals given the rich vein of form they’ve demonstrated alongside a Lucknow and Gujarat.
Truth be told, Rajasthan Royals, currently fourth on the standings, do find themselves in a bit of a precarious situation, if not a position of absolute botheration.
And being fourth on the list with ten points, which is exactly what the team right behind their tail, Royal Challengers Bangalore have, isn’t the only cause of worry.
Samson's form, a cause of concern?
What must worry Rajasthan, who might lose the grip around the top four slots with another defeat, should be the form of Sanju Samson.
For starters, as captain, Sanju Samson ought to perform better for the side than he is at the moment.
In a game of small margins and very little space for mediocrity of effort, the clean hitting batter must urgently lend a close observation to the musings of his bat.
While surely, his team is blessed to have a high performing opening pair in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, arguably speaking the most sought after opening duo besides the Faf and Virat pairing, what’s further working for Rajasthan is the big hitting Hetmyer; the Windies left hander has clearly emerged as a finisher this season.
But what’s not working is Sanju Samson’s current form, which clearly leaves a lot to desire.
Big statement or random jibe at a tremendous talent!
It’s anything but that.
Samson needs to step up his game!
Sanju Samson’s last or most recent scores as gathered from the four previous games read (in that order)- 14, 17, 22 and 2 (versus Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Gujarat, respectively).
Surely, Sanju, who being an absolute team
Man slotted himself into the number #3 so as to allow Jaiswal to position himself up the order, is much better than what he’s a bat shows at the moment.
Forget the big knocks, the last that Samson scored a half century in the ongoing edition was three weeks back.
A lot has happened in the IPL since then; Chennai’s Pathirana has become the go to choice for death bowling, Tim David has emerged as a six hitting monster, Tilak Varma is being talked about as a genuine star of this particular IPL, Venkatesh Iyer went from being in great form to a sudden dry patch, and Arjun Tendulkar became a wicket taker.
But beyond the world of opinion making at convenience or random takes on social media about the Rajasthan Royals, Samson must realise that the true onus of big run scoring still rests in his shoulders.
A Jos Buttler, who’s clearly settled into a more measured and cautious role ever since his opening partner truly came into his own, cannot alone win the matches.
Even Hetmyer needs to raise his game; the Guyanese batter finding himself cornered during close run chases.
And without a speck of doubt, Jaiswal is too young to have an entire team depend on his shoulders to get the job done.
The Wankhede brilliance notwithstanding, you can’t expect a young boy to win you games on his own.
Under such circumstances, the fans or call them the pink loyalists await a Sanju Samson special.
The T20 world does look more beautiful with Samson in the wake of his full powers instead of ruddying flashes of brilliance early on in an IPL season only to go quiet all of a sudden.
With not an awful games remaining any which way, this is Sanju’s time to prevail out in the middle.
How about retuning back to some finely stroked runs this very evening against the Gujarat Titans?
 "Dev Tyagi")
