Sanju Samson has an iconic fan following. His admirers are scattered around the world. If people turning up in numbers to support Samson during the India vs New Zealand series is not enough evident of the India batter's growing fanbase, then his admirers were even spotted in Qatar in the middle of the FIFA World Cup. Each time Samson is left out of India's Playing XI, his fans are highly vocal in expressing their displeasure. More so during the ongoing series in New Zealand. Samson was ignored for both T20Is and was dropped from the second ODI without getting a chance to bat in the first, which led to a huge public backlash towards the BCCI and the Indian team management.
However, in the process, one individual who always ends up receiving the wrong end of stick is Rishabh Pant. The competition between Pant and Samson for the position of India's wicketkeeper is a healthy one, but fans often tend to see it otherwise. Reacting to the public's emotional outburst, Samson's childhood coach Biju has played down this behaviour and reckons the Samson vs Pant debate has gotten escalated because of too many fans expressing too many opinions on social media.
"Now what's happening on social media is that people are turning against Rishabh Pant for no reason. Pant is there because he has performed over a long period of time. And see there is no clash between Pant and Sanju Samson. Samson has been playing and can play for India as a pure batter. Pant's keeping skills are very good. If you look over a period of time, Pant has not done a major lapse or fumble behind the stumps. He has come good for India in both red and white ball over a long period of time. He might have a slump now… When you talk about impact players like Adam Gilchrist or Virender Sehwag. They must get a levy to fail," Biju told CricketNext.
{{/usCountry}}"Now what's happening on social media is that people are turning against Rishabh Pant for no reason. Pant is there because he has performed over a long period of time. And see there is no clash between Pant and Sanju Samson. Samson has been playing and can play for India as a pure batter. Pant's keeping skills are very good. If you look over a period of time, Pant has not done a major lapse or fumble behind the stumps. He has come good for India in both red and white ball over a long period of time. He might have a slump now… When you talk about impact players like Adam Gilchrist or Virender Sehwag. They must get a levy to fail," Biju told CricketNext.
{{/usCountry}}"What I am not liking is how the Mallu crowd is putting Sanju Samson against BCCI, and belittling Rishabh Pant. It is very wrong and not at all on. Political leaders in Kerala think cricket is another game of politics and are saying Sanju is victimised. No, not at all. I don’t believe so and it's just that circumstances are not working in his favour. He is not being deliberately targeted. I don't think anybody in the Indian cricketing system would be deliberately targeted. Somebody like a VVS Laxman is the coach, I don’t see that happening."
Barring Pant, Ishan Kishan is another challenger to Samson's wicketkeeper role in the Indian side and has often gotten the nod ahead of the 28-year-old. A reason behind it could be the left-hand, right-hand combination, and with India currently not boasting too many left handers in their Playing XI, it could be a factor behind Samson getting dropped. Biju though is not buying the theory and feels a player should be in the team for his skills and capabilities.
"There is a theory that most fast bowlers practice 60-70 percent against right-handers. So when a left-hander comes to bat, there will be some freebies along the way. I don't subscribe to that theory. If you are a good fast bowler, left or right or even someone with an awkward stance like Shivnarine Chanderpaul shouldn't bother you much. My theory is simple, if you are good enough, you should be batting. Left or right doesn’t matter," added Biju.