IPL 2021 | Absolutely love watching Sanju Samson bat, says Kevin Pietersen

09/27/2021

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Kevin Pietersen has stated that he enjoys watching Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson’s batting when he's at his fluent best. The former England bastman further added that Samson should learn from KL Rahul to lead the team and play good cricket, regardless of the captaincy pressure.

Sanju Samson has become a hot topic for debate among fans and cricket experts. The Kerala-born batsman has been criticized for not being consistent in each IPL season,ever since he made his debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013. However, in the ongoing IPL season, Samson has amassed 351 runs from nine matches with an impressive average of 50.14. In the previous seasons of IPL, his batting average has always been between 20 to 34, due to the habitual fading of batting form as the tournament goes along.

Speaking on Samson's batting, Pietersen stated that watching the wicketkeeper-batsman playing shots and scoring runs is a delight. He further added that the 26-year-old lacks consistency, and it will be joyful to watch if he maintains his form in the ongoing season.

"I absolutely love him as a batter. I think he is absolutely incredible. The way that he plays the pull shot, the way he can hit sixes, the way he manipulates the spinners around the ground and picks the gap. When he scores a hundred, there aren't many batsmen who are better to watch than him. It is just his inconsistency that you keep asking me about," Pietersen had said on Star Sports.

The former England cricketer stated that leading Rajasthan Royals might have affected Samson's batting. He further added that the RR skipper could learn from KL Rahul in terms of leading the team without compromising the batting style.

"Is it because of his captaincy? Maybe he is thinking too much about his role as captain. He needs to do what KL Rahul does and say to himself… 'you know what? I'm going to bat. My time is now to bat. I’ll captain another time, but my time right now is to bat," added Pietersen.

Rajasthan Royals will lock horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday, September 27 in Dubai.