Raiphi, the man who ignited Samson’s six-hitting spree | Cricket News – Times of India

KOCHI: Having already sealed a series victory by winning the first two matches, the third T20 against Bangladesh in Hyderabad on Saturday was inconsequential for Team India. However, it was by no means inconsequential for Sanju Samson.
Samson is Indian cricket’s biggest enigma in recent times. He has not been able to translate his massive potential into proven performances despite making his international debut almost a decade ago.The two successive ducks in the T20 series in Sri Lanka in July and the modest returns in the first two matches against Bangladesh meant that Samson’s place was on the line.
However, showing no signs of pressure, Samson strode out to open the innings in Hyderabad and hit a blistering hundred (111 off 47 balls, 11×4, 8×6), the second fastest by an Indian in T20 internationals, leaving the cricketing world in awe.
The highlight of that breathtaking innings was the five consecutive sixes he smashed off leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. During the post-match presentation, Samson acknowledged that his mentor had told him ‘to hit five sixes in an over’ and that he was waiting for that opportunity.
The mentor Samson spoke about is former Kerala captain Raiphi Vincent Gomez, who watched his ward’s latest exploits on television, sitting thousands of miles away in Dubai. Raiphi himself produced something similar at the domestic level some years ago when he clobbered Hyderabad allrounder Ravi Teja for five sixes in an over during the Subbaiah Pillai one-day tournament in Chennai in 2010.
“I knew Sanju always had the ability to hit five sixes in an over at the international level and I am glad that he has done that now,” Raiphi told TOI from Dubai, where he is now the head coach of Danube Cricket Lab.
Raiphi reveals that Samson’s six-hitting feat wasn’t an overnight thing and had its origin during Covid times when he and Samson trained and discussed the game for hours. More recently, Samson flew to Dubai for a couple of days before the Duleep Trophy and specifically worked with Raiphi on improving his back-to-back six-hitting ability.
“Mastering the art of playing along the ground to all types of bowlers requires years of dedicated practice. It is only after perfecting this skill that a player can consistently unleash the ability to hit sixes with precision and control.
“I worked with Sanju on the key elements such as body positioning, balance, rhythm, timing, and flow. Over time, these components align seamlessly, allowing the player to ignite the right muscle groups and activate muscle memory for each shot. By understanding and mastering these angles, a player like Sanju can unlock the true potential to dominate the game with consistent power and accuracy,” Raiphi said.
“We made Sanju play against all kinds of bowlers during training because the body positioning, balance, timing, flow, and angles he needs to be in will be different for each kind of bowler,” added Samson’s former Kerala teammate.
“He hit Rashid Khan for three consecutive sixes in the IPL. So I knew he could do bigger things on the international stage. In the innings in Hyderabad, the four successive fours Sanju hit off Taskin early on in his innings were equally important. I think that gave him the confidence to go after Rishad. With the kind of talent he has, I won’t be surprised if he repeats these exploits,” warns Raiphi.
The innings in Hyderabad may not have just salvaged Samson’s international career but would also have given him a lot of confidence. If he is able to marry the priceless gifts of timing and stroke-making with consistency, the 29-year-old can expect to become a Team India regular in the shorter formats in the days to come.