IPL 2020 | Samson won’t be next Dhoni, will create his own identity, states Gautam Gambhir

Consistency is one attribute that has evaded Sanju Samson throughout the course of his cricketing career, be it for Kerala in domestic cricket or in the Indian Premier League, but on Sunday in Sharjah versus Kings XI Punjab, the 25-year-old showed first signs of him having taken his batsmanship to the next level. Chasing a mammoth 224, Samson, on the back of his 74 vs CSK in Rajasthan’s first game, struck a nonchalant 42-ball 85 to help his side script the highest chase in the IPL history. 

The wondrous knock from the youngster has seen many, including Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, brand the wicket-keeper batsman the ‘next MS Dhoni’, but Gautam Gambhir seemed to vehemently disagree with the statement. The former Indian batsman, in response to a Tweet posted by Tharoor, claimed that Samson will be “The Sanju Samson” of Indian cricket and not necessarily the ‘next anyone’.

“Sanju Samson doesn’t need to be next anyone. He will be ‘the’ Sanju Samson of Indian Cricket,” Gambhir wrote on Sunday, quote-tweeting Tharoor. 

Gambhir’s statement came in response to the words of Tharoor, who himself took to Twitter after Samson’s knock to reveal that he had predicted a decade ago that the 25-year-old will become the next MS Dhoni. 

“What an absolutely incredible win for  @rajasthanroyals  ! I’ve known  @iamSanjuSamson for a decade & told him when he was 14 that he would one day be the next MS Dhoni. Well, that day is here. After his two amazing innings in this IPL you know a world class player has arrived,” the 64-year-old had tweeted. 

Gambhir’s praise for young Samson has not come as a bolt from the blue as it was only a week ago that the veteran claimed that the right-hander’s six-hitting ability is on par with Rohit Sharma. With a remarkable 16 sixes in 2 matches, Samson has hit more sixes than any other batsman in IPL 2020. 

“I would probably rate him at the same level as Rohit Sharma. He makes it look absolutely effortless. I’ve seen Andre Russell, MS Dhoni, all those guys hit big sixes but the class of (Sanju) hitting those sixes is probably as close to Rohit Sharma,” Gambhir had said after RR’s win over CSK.