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'If A Guy From Kerala...': Sanju Samson Opens Up Competition Within Team India

Sanju Samson will led RR in IPL 2024 [X.com]Sanju Samson will led RR in IPL 2024 [X.com]

The battle to earn a place in the Indian XI is extremely cut-throat, and for a wicketkeeper-batter, it has become even more fierce, given the options the selectors have.

Sanju Samson, a name that has been around the cricketing circles since 2015, remains uncertain of a spot in limited-overs cricket despite being a proven performer in limited chances. 

Samson, who has adopted a more aggressive play-style recently, has now opened up about India call-ups and how he sees the ever-growing competition within keepers. 

As quoted by Hindustan Times, the Rajasthan Royals skipper feels that cementing a place in the Indian XI coming from Kerala needs something special, and for that, he developed power-hitting. 


' A guy from Kerala' - Sanju Samson

"When you are playing cricket in the world's best country... India is no.1 in the world… the number of players, the number of talent and the competitions we have... a guy from Kerala. if he has to come and cement his place in the national side, he has to do something special." 

"I always wanted to stand out with the way I bat… create my own style. No matter if it's the first ball, I wanted to go out there and hit a six. That was the shift in the mindset. I wanted to do something different. Why do we have to wait for ten balls to hit a six? That was the motive behind the development of my power-hitting."

Samson over the years has faced stiff competition from the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and KS Bharat for a place in the XI and now sees fellow RR teammate Dhruv Jurel and Jitesh Sharma also rise as a contender.

The 29-year-old so far has featured in 16 ODIs, and 25 T20Is, amassing 884 with one hundred and four fifties, which is below his standards for many.

Samson will be in action on March 24, when Royals take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the tournament opener at Jaipur.