On Wednesday night, the Rajasthan Royals suffered a narrow 10-run defeat to the Lucknow Super Giants in a low-scoring game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. The Royals needed to chase down a target of 155 runs to secure their fifth win in the 2023 Indian Premier League season.
Samson rich vein of form continues
Despite a positive start by the opening duo of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who forged an 84-run partnership, the Royals faced a middle-order collapse and eventually succumbed to a defeat with a total of 144/6 in 20 overs on a slow surface.
Despite the loss, the Rajasthan Royals have made an impressive start to the season and are still on top of the table. With four wins in six matches and a healthy net run rate (+1.043), the Royals are poised for another strong season. Last year, the Samson-led side reached the final of the season but lost to newcomers Gujarat Titans.
Sanju Samson, the Kerala-born wicketkeeper-batter and captain of the Rajasthan Royals, had put in consistent performances for the team in the previous season, scoring 458 runs in 17 matches with a strike rate of 146. In the current season, he has scored 159 runs in six matches, with two half-centuries to his name. Despite his strong performances in the Indian Premier League, Samson has not been a consistent member of the national team.
Performaces will matter not winning IPL
Samson, who has represented India in 11 ODIs and 17 T20Is, has failed to solidify his place in the national side. Samson has played in a number of positions in the batting order, including that of an opener.
The Hindustan Times quoted former India selector Sarandeep Singh, who has in the past also picked Samson for the national side. Sarandeep was asked about the lack of opportunities the Rajasthan Royals skipper was getting for India and whether he needed to win an IPL title as captain to solidify his claim ahead of the ODI World Cup.
However, Sarandeep stated that an IPL title has got nothing to do with consistent chances in Team India.
“Sanju Samson got his chances as an opener in T20Is when we were selectors. We gave him a proper chance. But at that time, he wasn't really able to make a mark. In the fifty-over games, he played in the middle-order and his performances were good. But what happens is, during the same time, there are other wicketkeeper-batters who perform well as well,” Sarandeep, who is the IPL Commentator and Expert on JioCinema, told HT.
"Ishan Kishan scored a double-hundred recently. Of course, Rishabh Pant is there. Dinesh Karthik had also made a return last year. That's why, sometimes you don't get many chances.
“But I don't necessarily believe that winning the IPL title would help his case. Because you may win the IPL, but what if you don't score enough runs in the season? So, performances are the only criteria. If you're scoring 700-800 runs in an IPL season, you will definitely get picked. Yes, winning the IPL title is important, but only performances can get you picked,” Sarandeep stated.
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