Sanju Samson began IPL 2021 with a bang – scoring a thrilling century against Punjab Kings in style and almost taking his team past the finishing line in a tight run-chase. However, since then the runs have dried up. Ha hasn’t been able to continue his irresistible form and has come under the flak of many supporters and professionals who’ve questioned Sanju’s ‘risk-taking’ singular approach.
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has also slammed the Rajasthan Royals captain and opines that Sanju Samson’s inconsistency is causing his career harm. He also reckons that it might be a mental issue with Samson because of which he’s unable to sustain his form for long periods of time.
“If you look over the last many IPLs, consistency is an issue. He starts very well but it’s either nothing or everything. So, your graph shouldn’t fluctuate this much. A good player’s graph always remains in the middle,” said the hero of the 2011 World Cup win.
Since scoring a fine ton in the first match, Sanju Samson has scored four, one, and 21 over the next three games – a sign of his erratic form. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Gambhir drew the examples of players like AB De Villiers, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, who are able to follow up on their majestic match-winning knocks with solid innings in the next matches.
“If you look at Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, or AB de Villiers, who are all brilliant players, if they make 80-odd runs they don’t score 0, 1, or 10 in the next few innings but contribute with a knock of 30 or 40-odd runs.”
Gambhir also added that the newly appointed Rajasthan Royals captain also has to work on his approach. Samson is too adamant and refuses to bend or flex from his strategy and Gambhir believes, he needs to adapt to the changing conditions and mindset. The IPL 2012 and 2014 winning captain also added that as a batsman he should be able to change gears and also make adjustments with the changing match situation.
“If you look at Sanju Samson’s graph, either he scores an 80-90 or nothing at all. If there is so much fluctuation then somewhere it’s an issue of the mindset,” he concluded.
