The 2023 Indian Premier League begins on March 31 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings taking on the defending champions Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. Last year's runners-up, Rajasthan Royals will begin their campaign on April 2 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad; the Royals enjoyed an impressive run in the previous season under the captaincy of Sanju Samson, but failed to clear the final hurdle as they faced a seven-wicket defeat in Ahmedabad.
Samson, though, was the star of the season for the Royals alongside opener Jos Buttler; while the Englishman ending as the Orange Cap winner in the season, Samson, too, scored 458 runs in 17 matches across the tournament at an impressive strike rate of 146.79.
However, despite putting out aggressive performances in the IPL, Samson has failed to cement a place in Team India's XI. The Kerala-born wicketkeeper-batter remained behind Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan in the pecking order in limited-overs cricket and even as Pant remains away from action after a car crash last December, Samson has failed to find a place in Indian limited-overs XI. In the ongoing ODI series against Australia, Samson isn't a part of the squad as well.
Former India bowler Sreesanth has spoke in detail about Samson, revealing that he has had a conversation on what the wicketkeeper-batter could improve on.
{{/usCountry}}Former India bowler Sreesanth has spoke in detail about Samson, revealing that he has had a conversation on what the wicketkeeper-batter could improve on.
{{/usCountry}}“Sanju (is) a very attacking captain and sometimes, when the occasion comes, he has to step back a bit. That's something I've been telling him,” Sreesanth told Star Sports as he previewed Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2023.
“That's one, maybe he might have to balance between attacking and defending. Even when it comes to captaincy, he's still learning. But that will be one very important point when it comes to strengths and weaknesses. Sanju has to balance his thoughts and decision making.”
Sreesanth also picked Samson as the trump card for RR in the season. “Sanju Samson, I genuinely hope that he does extremely well and gets back to Indian lineup. Scoring lot of runs and lots of performances,” said Sreesanth.