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Former Indian coach and all-rounder Ravi Shastri believes that Sanju Samson is a candidate for the national side's T20I captaincy, citing his experience in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as former Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain and growing consistency, maturity with the bat.
Suryakumar Yadav led India to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup title at home two months ago, where Samson was named 'Player of the Tournament', scoring 321 runs in five innings, including three half-centuries scored in succession from the must-win Super Eight clash against West Indies to the title clash against New Zealand. "India, come the next (T20) World Cup (in 2028), might be looking for a new captain, depending on how Surya goes over the next couple of years," Shastri said, speaking to Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review as quoted by ICC. "But Sanju Samson has put himself there for a leadership role because he's done that in the past for Rajasthan (Royals)," he added. Shastri says that Samson's destructive batting makes him a certainty within the line-up. "So I see him, this is just the start of something more you will see from Sanju over the next two or three years," he added Samson had led Rajasthan Royals in the IPL for five seasons, including in 2022, when they finished runners-up. In international cricket, Samson has been in the form of his life and has translated that form for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL during the ongoing edition, where he has scored 430 runs in 11 innings at an average of 53.75 and a strike rate of 169.29, with two centuries and a fifty. This year in T20s, Samson has made 797 runs in 21 innings at an average of 46.88 and a strike rate of 177.50, including two centuries and four fifties. There have been questions about Samson's consistency in the past, but Shastri does not feel that it is an issue anymore, with his game this year showing a newfound maturity. "I think he (Samson) has put a lid on all those question marks. There was always ability. People would, in fact, be disappointed because he wouldn't do justice to that ability," Shastri noted. "But my word this season, the way he has played after his performance in the T20 World Cup where single-handedly he almost won India games, the big games, the quarter-finals (West Indies, Super 8), semi-finals, the final, and the way he stepped up and the maturity he has showing now in the IPL, makes him a clear case as far as I'm concerned for leadership in the future," he signed off. (ANI)
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