NEWS
Follow UsSanju Samson has been enjoying a spectacular run of form in T20I cricket for India, as he became the only Indian to score back-to-back T20I tons with 107(50) in the first T20I against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban. That allowed Team India to pulverise the Proteas by 61 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match T20I series.
Speaking on his YouTube channel about the game, former Proteas star AB de Villiers heaped a ton of praise on Rajasthan Royals’s skipper, with whom he also shares a personal connection.
“Back-to-back T20 hundreds, absolutely incredible. I am incredibly proud of the guy,” de Villiers said.
“I say proud because I do have a personal connection with him. We have been in touch for several years now. I have always been a big fan of Sanju Samson. I love how he plays, and I always want him to do well.”
The South African star felt that Samson has attained a new level of maturity in the game, which is allowing him to reach a standard of excellence unseen in his game so far. Surprisingly, de Villiers didn’t attribute that to the Indian coaching staff but rather to Samson himself.
“Sanju has upped the gear in his game,” de Villiers said.
“Something has clicked in Sanju Samson’s world, whether it's the coaching staff, I doubt it.No disrespect to VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel, and whoever is a part of the coaching group.”
“I just feel that this guy has reached maturity; he has realised something. It is exciting to all of us Samson fans. I think there is another gear, a sixth gear, I want to see it unfold.”
He remembered the instances when Samson scored a century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and praised how effortless his stroke-making has been ever since he saw him do that.
“He scored a century once at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against RCB. I was on the park and I realised that day, that this guy is something special and he is proving me right,” the former RCB batter said.
“For those of you who have followed Sanju Samson, I haven't often seen him bat at a strike rate of more than 200; he is generally more conservative; he is usually between 140 and 160, and both these hundreds, he has scored back-to-back have been very very fast and especially this last hundred.”
“Something has triggered there, something has clicked in his game which is absolutely great to watch. The thing about him is that he makes it effortless out there. I don't see much experimentation going out there. Not a lot of creativity in terms of funny shots, doesn't seem that he wants to entertain the crowd and please someone, he just sticks in his little bubble and is easy on the eye.”
Samson had earlier accepted after the match that the clarity provided to him by the Indian team management helped him stay secure in his mind and go and execute his skill.
Communication during failure is also very important," Samson said.
"A player can get lost during his negative phase. "During that time [after the ducks against Sri Lanka], I received a lot of phone calls from Gautam bhai and Surya, telling me what to work on. They said, 'Your game against spin looks dicey, so gather the spinners in Kerala and practise on the rough wickets.'
"If the captain of the Indian team is calling and telling you how to practise after two ducks, then you know that the captain is confident about you and he wants you to do well. All those small things play a huge role.”
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