The world cannot stop talking about Sanju Samson, who recently scored his second T20I ton. The right-handed batter, smashed 107 runs in the first T20I against South Africa on Friday, and this was his second consecutive century in the shortest format, after having previously scored 111 runs against Bangladesh in October. Samson’s knock helped Team India register a comprehensive win, and now former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has heaped praise on the 29-year-old, saying he has found “another gear” in his game.
The Proteas legend also said that something has changed in the game of Sanju Samson, as earlier, he used to be “conservative”, batting at a strike rate of 140-160. He also talked about why he doesn’t see head coach Gautam Gambhir and other members of the coaching staff, not having any role in Samson’s redemption.
“Sanju Samson, who scored a massive 100. Back-to-back T20 hundreds, absolutely incredible. Am incredibly proud of the guy, I say proud because I do have a personal connection with him. We have been in touch for a number of years now. I have always been a big fan of Sanju Samson, I just love the way he plays, and I always want him to do well,” said AB de Villiers on his YouTube channel.
“He scored a 100 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. 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 140-160 and both these hundreds he has scored back-to-back have been very very fast and especially this last hundred,” he added.
AB de Villiers doubts Gautam Gambhir’s role in Samson’s redemption
The 40-year-old de Villiers also doubted whether India head coach Gautam Gambhir has had any role in Sanju Samson’s redemption, saying it looks like that the batter has realised his maturity levels, and he is finally showing the world, what he can do.
“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 he just is easy on the eye,” said de Villiers.
“Sanju has upped the gear in his game. I hope the selectors are watching this for all the formats. I wan to see this guy play all the formats. I think he is someone who is really really special, someone who can play all the formats, in all conditions around the world. Something has clicked in the Sanju Samson world, whether it’s the coaching staff, I doubt it. No disrespect to VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel, whoever is a part of the coaching group. I just feel that this guy has reached the maturity point, 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 added.
It is important to mention that Sanju Samson had earlier credited Suryakumar Yadav, Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman for giving him role clarity.
“When you have a supporting captain like Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam bhai and VVS Laxman sir, they all support you during failures. The way they communicate with you in your failures is very important. Everyone knows that if we are going through a negative phase, then the player can get lost there,” Samson had said at the post-match press conference after the end of first T20I.
“So at that time, I received a lot of phone calls from Gautam bhai and Surya, telling me what to work on,” he added.
Talking about Sanju Samson, the right-handed batter smashed 7 fours and 10 sixes in the first T20I against South Africa. The Proteas were not able to chase down the target of 202/8 and as a result, India registered a win by 61 runs.
India and South Africa will now square off in the second T20I of the four-match series on Sunday, November 10 at St George’s Park in Gqeberha.
