Sanju Samson could use consistent opportunities, believes Bangar

Say "inconsistent," and a plethora of Indian cricket fans would possibly throw the name of Sanju Samson at your face. However, they will be divided into halves when you question whether "inconsistent" was uttered in the context of his performance for India or the opportunities he gets in the ICT. The Kerala wicket-keeper batter ground relentlessly in the IPL to rise through the ranks and become a captain in the league. However, in the India setup, Samson is still awaiting a long rope that's not cut short series after series.

The South Africa tour, where India played four T20Is, proved a riveting series for Samson. Tons, ducks, the tournament saw Samson dwelling in extremes, leaving the fans confused about whether he deserved applause for becoming the first Indian to smash consecutive T20I tons or criticism for being equally ineffective in subsequent innings.

However, now with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having said their goodbyes to the shorter format, it seems like the time has finally come for Samson to get consistent backing. The "seems" solidifies when you look at the recently announced India squad for the five-match T20I series against England. With Rishabh Pant rested, Sanju Samson has assumed the primary wicket-keeping spot in the squad, while Dhruv Jurel serves as the backup prospect. Following his scintillating onslaught in the final T20I against Bangladesh last year, where he smashed 111 off just 47 deliveries, an ecstatic Samson credited India's T20I skipper and the management for backing his spot in the team, irrespective of his performances.

Now, former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar has reiterated the fact that Samson blooms under the certainty of his place in the team. Bangar explained that any batter performs freely when provided with at least 3-4 opportunities on the trot. Expanding further, Bangar compared Samson to Yuvraj Singh as he analyzed his batting approach, identifying it as one of big hitting.

“Glad to see the kind of success that he has been blessed with currently. He has been there for a long time. It’s just that he has got the right opportunities and a good run of opportunities because every batter, if he is playing three or four matches in a row, that frees him a little bit,” Sanjay Bangar said.

“Batting up the order, he doesn’t really have to worry about the situation. The field is up, and he is a six-hitter. He can hit sixes with ease. After Yuvraj Singh, if there is one batter who can do it with such ease on a consistent basis, it has to be Sanju Samson. So just to see him firing on all cylinders is a treat to watch,” Bangar added.