“No puedo pelear…” – Sanju Samson rechaza la “competencia” con los coanfitriones Ishan Kishan y Rishabh Pant

In the past, there have been murmurs about drafting Sanju Samson into the Test team. And, why not. The white-ball specialist has been decent in the red-ball format too, and had recently scored a ton in the Duleep Trophy match between IND D and IND B at Anantpur. Whether that happens or not, but surely, Sanju made a statement by doing so.

In fact, in a interview with Vimal Kumar, Sanju Samson claimed, that he loves playing red-ball cricket. If that is to go by, it could be a big plus for the Indian team, and someone like a KL Rahul’s position could be in danger, if the man from Kerala makes it count in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.

“I enjoy Test cricket the most. You can’t get that feel of Tests, anywhere else,” Sanju said in the interaction. “That is where the quality of a player really comes out. The grind of the five days, the mental toughness..Whenever I get a chance, I make it a point to play Ranji Trophy for Kerala. That four days of Ranji cricket is pretty draining. When you get the success, after a long struggle, that feeling is something else. I don’t speak a lot about it, but I always wanted to play Test cricket for my country.”

Sanju Samson vs Rishabh Pant vs Ishan Kishan

Asked, how does he treat competition from the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel, among others, Sanju had a straightforward reply. He said, the best way is to focus on his own game.

“Where we have reached today, there is a struggle story of at least 8-10 years. Here we play, U-19, or India A together, so that is where we create a bond. So I have a great friendship with Rishabh, Ishan and other keepers. So whatever happens on the ground stays there. Like, we all are competing with ourselves.

“We of course can’t fight against each other. Whatever comes on the social media, is only personal opinion. But there isn’t any rivalry between the players. If we think like that, there is bound to be a sense of awkwardness.”