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'Not sure you've seen Sanju Samson': Ricky Ponting to Nasser Hussain after Rohit Sharma wins 'favourite player' honour

Oct 30, 2024 02:18 PM IST

Ricky Ponting's mention of Sanju Samson after Nasser Hussain called Rohit Sharma his current favourite player took the cake in this discussion.

The one and only Rohit Sharma is undoubtedly one of the finest batters in world cricket, but there are few players more exciting to watch when in full flow than Sanju Samson. At least that's the sentiment Ricky Ponting tried to convey to Nasser Hussain during their discussion on Sky Sports. Speaking on a range of hot topics in world cricket, Hussain and Ponting were very India-heavy when asked to name their current favourite players. After much deliberation, Hussain's pick was Rohit, and there are no prizes for guessing why.

Sanju Samson brushed aside Bangladesh with a century in the third T20I earlier this month.(HT_PRINT)
Sanju Samson brushed aside Bangladesh with a century in the third T20I earlier this month.(HT_PRINT)

Rohit has been instrumental in India's recent success. He led India to the final of the 2023 World Cup and finished the story when he and his team finally landed an ICC title after 11 years by lifting the T20 World Cup trophy earlier this year. Yes, the home Test series loss to New Zealand will sting, and his current form is under the scanner following poor outings in the last eight innings, but let these recent setbacks not take anything away from what an asset he continues to be for India.

"I would say I like Rohit Sharma. I have to be honest. I just think back, and it's so hard; such a difficult task but Rohit makes it look so easy. Batting, I always felt rushed when you're facing any bowler. You feel like you're out of time. Rohit seems to have so much time to play a shot; the pull that he plays," Hussain said.

Ponting namedrops Sanju Samson

While Hussain's answer was limited to Rohit, Ponting listed many names that he finds exciting. One of them was Samson, an enigma in Indian cricket. Despite being amply talented, the number of chances Samson gets always leaves a lot to be desired. He was part of India's T20 World Cup squad but didn't get a game. However, when he did – such as in the T20I against Bangladesh, Samson roared to form with a breathtaking T20I century. So while the likes of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are all exciting batters for Ponting to consume, Samson's mention took the cake.

"Yeah, I was thinking about Rohit Sharma. In fact, you can nearly mention the whole Indian batting line-up. Let's start with Rohit; then there's Shubman Gill. I like watching him play. Think about Rishabh Pant, and you've got somebody like Virat somewhere in the middle of that. I'm not sure how much you've seen of a guy called Sanju Samson in T20 cricket. He's a lovely player to watch when he's up and about and going as well," said Ponting, a four-time World Cup winner for Australia.

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