'He's got amazing attitude, vantage point as wicketkeeper': Ashwin expects 'blockbuster year' for IND's 27-year-old star

Earlier this month captain Rohit Sharma's was all praise for the young wicketkeeper-batsman before the start of the Sri Lanka series.

The stars are truly aligning for India's 27-year-old promising cricketer. With India looking to revamp their T20I side for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, young Sanju Samson was recalled to the side for the Sri Lanka series at home earlier this month where captain Rohit Sharma's was all praise for the wicketkeeper-batsman. And now, with only five days left before the start of the 15th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) veteran Indian offie R Ashwin heaped immense praise on the youngster and hopes for a "blockbuster" 2022 for Samson.

Indian cricket team; R Ashwin

Before the India recall, Samson played ten T20Is and one ODI for India in six years, and four of those appearances in the shortest format was for the second-string Indian side in the tour of Sri Lanka last year. But Samson has failed to make the most of those opportunities. Yet, Rohit was reserved highest praise for the youngster, calling him "talented".

Samson has indeed showing remarkable improvement in T20 cricket. In IPL 2021, Samson scored 484 runs in 14 games at 40.33 and with a strike rate of 136.72 which included a century and two half-centuries. In 2020, he scored 375 runs in as many games at a strike rate of 158.89 with three half-centuries. And he also returned with decent numbers against Sri Lanka in the home series this month.

“I think Sanju has got an amazing attitude and a good head on his shoulders. He’s always open for discussion, open to opinions around the game, so that’s a great quality to have. I do believe Sanju has got the vantage point as a wicketkeeper to judge the game with all the angles, the pitch and how things are going to work. He also has age on his side, and will definitely get better. I hope he has one blockbuster of a year," said Ashwin on Monday.

Samson will be leading Rajasthan Royals for the second time in his career, having made his IPL debut for the franchise in 2013. And Ashwin is their new recruit.

“I feel contribution to a team is far beyond than just contributing on the ground. I’ve always been a person who enjoys talking about cricket and have been very open in terms of having a discussion with anyone around the sport. With my experience and communication skills, I’ll try to have discussions with anyone who wants to have a discussion and help to the best of my ability, hopefully making a difference to the squad from within,” Ashwin said on joing Rajasthan Royals.