'He is a great talent. One of the finest players': Akhtar names 27-year-old star who 'should have played more for India'

"Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to seal his place in the Indian team," Shoaib Akhtar said about the India player.

Indian cricket is at a stage where there no dearth of talent. In fact, since last August, the number of players who have received India caps and made their international debut cannot be counted on fingers. The advent of the IPL, along with the players' stunning performances have paved the way for these youngsters to realise their dream of playing for India. Over the last one year, the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, T Natarajan and many more have reaped the results of a splendid IPL season and represented the Indian team across formats.

Shoaib Akhtar has his say on India's 27-year-old batter.  (Getty/Insta)

But while certain youngsters have cashed in on their chances, there are those who haven’t quite lived up to expectations such as Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Vijay Shankar and Varun Chakravarthy. Samson's case is all the more concerning since it was back in 2015 that the wicketkeeper batter made his India debut but has till date, played only 14 matches for Team India – 13 T20Is and one ODI. Weighing in on Samson, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar called him a 'great talent' and feels the 27-year-old should have played more matches for India.

"Sanju Samson should have played more matches for India. I think he is one of the finest players. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to seal his place in the Indian team. But he is a great talent," Akhtar told SportsKeeda.

Inconsistency has been Samson's biggest bane. The Rajasthan Royals captain has always been phenomenal in the IPL but fails to carry the same form in India matches. He has made several comebacks into the Indian team but is yet to score either a fifty or a century in 14 appearances. He made his ODI debut last year against Sri Lanka and scored 46 before exiting the ODI setup.

When it comes to the IPL, there has been no shortage of runs from Samson. Last season, Samson piled 484 runs at an average of 40.33 and hit a century to go with two fifties. The previous two seasons, Samson scored 375 and 342 runs respectively. In the current edition of the IPL, Samson has played two matches and has already conjured an impressive half-century.