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‘Talent is there, class is there’: Sanjay Manjrekar names two players for whom IPL 2020 is going to be big
IPL 2020: Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson are two youngsters vying for the wicketkeeper’s spot in India’s limited-overs set-up. Sanjay Manjrekar feels the time is ideal for both youngsters to give their best.
While most eyes are expected to be on the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the IPL 2020, Sanjay Manjrekar believes the coming season will be extremely crucial for two cricketers of the Indian cricket team in particular. Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson are two youngsters vying for the wicketkeeper’s spot in India’s limited-overs set-up. And now that India are hosting the T20 World Cup in 2021, Manjrekar feels the time is ideal for both youngsters to give their best.
“People like Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, for me as an analyst watching the players and trying to make an assessment, sometimes predictions go right or wrong, they are both slightly enigmatic for me,” Manjrekar said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
“Rishabh Pant, definitely there is something there. There is an X-factor and he will suddenly win you games in 10 minutes, that you thought you were losing. Sanju Samson as well, the kind of batting that he has got when he is on song, he just takes your breath away.”
Pant, 21, has struggled to keep his place in the Indian team, his role restricted to warming the benches and carrying drinks in ODIs and T20Is ever since KL Rahul started keeping wickets in January. In Tests, he has fallen behind Wriddhiman Saha in the pecking order, and even though he played the two Tests in New Zealand in February, scores of 25, 19, 4 and 12 didn’t help him get a longer rope with the team.
Meanwhile, Samson, who was drafted into the Indian team for the T20I series against Sri Lanka in January this year, scored 6 in the final match of the series. He was included in the squad that went to New Zealand to play five T20Is, but unfortunately disappointed with scores of 8 and 2 in the fourth and fifth matches.
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“But finally, consistency and generally winning performances is important, there is so much cricket happening and people clamouring for a batting position. Talent is there, class is there, potential is there but finally I am going to look at Sanju Samson’s performances and Rishabh Pant’s numbers as well to make a judgement on them,” Manjrekar said.
“So, it is another big IPL and all everyone wants from them is consistency. It can’t be one good innings and then 3-4 failures where it seems that you have just thrown it away.”
