IPL 2021 | Kumar Sangakkara believes Sanju Samson can make Team India comeback

Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara seemed confident that the captain of the side Sanju Samson will be able to make his comeback to the national side sooner rather than later. Sanju has been in astounding form for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021 and has shown more maturity and consistency this season.

Samson is only two runs behind DC’s Shikhar Dhawan in the Orange Cap race and his average of 50.22 and strike rate of 141.25 this season are considerably higher than his IPL average of 29.76 and strike rate of 134.1. Samson was included in India’s limited-overs squad on the tour of Sri Lanka in July but failed to make an impression. He has featured in only 10 T20Is and one ODI for Team India.

Legendary wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Sangakkara thinks Samson has been excellent for RR this season. He will soon get his chance in Team India and when that time comes, he will get a longer run to prove himself.

“Yeah, we do have one-on-one chats on a lot of things. India aspirations come at a time when the IPL is over. Our chats are very much IPL-focused. Not just his batting but about captaincy, about the team and how we are playing. He is a very good player and a special talent. He has done exceptionally well for us this season. I am sure he has aspirations to play for India and, at some point, I think he will be selected for a longer run. He is good and ready at any time that he is picked.”

The 26-year-old failed to make much of an impression against Royal Challengers Bangalore. After a couple of crucial knocks against Delhi Capitals (70*) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (82), he was dismissed for 19 runs as Shahbaz Ahmed made the crucial breakthrough.

Rajasthan Royals ended up losing the match to Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets and they are currently second from bottom in the table as qualification seems to get tougher and tougher. With four wins and seven losses from 11 matches, the skipper thinks that the side doesn’t have anything to lose anymore and will continue to believe in their playoff chances.

“We don’t have anything to lose, and that gives a lot of freedom to go out and express ourselves. Funny things can happen in IPL. We need to keep believing till the last match we play,” said Sanju Samson in the post-match presentation.