'Starts like a million-dollar baby but goes down rapidly': Gautam Gambhir slams RR captain Sanju Samson's inconsistency
Gautam Gambhir's comments came after legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar too criticized Sanju Samson for letting his side Rajasthan Royals down by being inconsistent with the bat in IPL 2021. Gambhir said Samson should follow Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Sanju Samson’s dry run in IPL 2021 after his majestic hundred in Rajasthan Royals’ opening game against Punjab Kings, has frustrated even his great admirer Gautam Gambhir. The former India opener said Samson 'starts like a million-dollar baby' in the Indian Premier League and then tapers off as the tournament progresses.
Gambhir's comments came after legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar too criticized Samson for letting his side down by being inconsistent with the bat. Samson was dismissed for 21 against RCB on Thursday in a match which RR lost by 10 wickets.
“Sanju Samson starts like a million-dollar baby, who looks like he’s going to take the IPL on fire by scoring 800-900 runs but then suddenly he starts going down rapidly,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.
Samson, who scored 119 against PBKS has since then registered scores of 4, 1, and 21 in the 14th edition of IPL.
MI vs PBKS live score, IPL 2021
Stressing on the need for Samson to contribute with the 30s and 40s, Gambhir said The Royals captain should look at the way Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers perform in the IPL.
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“He needs to contribute. I’ve spoken earlier as well that the graph can’t be so up and down. There needs to be some balance maintained. You’ve scored a hundred, but you still have to keep contributing. Look at AB de Villiers, look at Virat Kohli. They’ll get a hundred and then they’ll get a 40.
“If you see Sanju Samson. There is a hundred and then nothing. He’ll probably get another hundred but that is not how quality or world-class players do. I’m not saying he’s gonna get a 100 every second game but you need contributions. He needs to be tighter. I want to see that responsibility taken by him,” Gambhir added.
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In the absence of key players like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, there is more responsibility on Samson’s shoulders than ever before. The lack of consistency from Samson has also reflected on RR’s performance in this year’s IPL. They have lost three of their four games and are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table with the worst net run rate.
Gambhir said the RR captaincy can either mature Samson or take his career the other way.
“In the absence of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, it’s a golden opportunity for him to get mature. He’s at that stage of his career where it could go either way. He’s not a permanent member of the Indian side. He has been given the responsibility to lead RR so it either matures him or he goes the other way,” Gambhir said.
