India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson was finally able to give a befitting reply to his critics when he hit a century during the third IND vs SA ODI match. Samson played 108 runs off 114 balls in Paarl and was the architect of India’s 78-run victory against the Proteas.

After Sanju Samson’s magnificent performance in the third ODI against South Africa, Samson received another gift as he will lead Kerala in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. Rohan Kunnummal has been named vice-captain of the team, while the team marks the return of Vishnu Vinod.

Sanju Samson has played a total of 58 first-class matches in which the right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman has scored 3446 runs at an average of 38.71. He has also reached 10 hundreds and 15 half-centuries. Apart from Samson, Shreyas Gopal and Jalaj Saxena are the two experienced players in the Kerala team.

Kerala will play their first Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh in Alappuzha from January 5. Apart from Uttar Pradesh, the Sanju Samson-led team will take on Mumbai, Bengal, Andhra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Bihar in Elite. B Group.

Sanju Samson-led Kerala team for Ranji Trophy

Sanju Samson (c), Rohan Kunnummal (vc), Krishna Prasad, Anand Krishnan, Rohan Prem, Sachin Baby, Vishnu Vinod, Akshay Chandran, Shreyas Gopal, Jalaj Saxena, Vaishak Chandran, Basil Thampi, Vishweshwar A Suresh, MD Nidheesh, Basil NP, Vishnu Raj (week).

Sanju Samson was the architect of India’s comeback during the third ODI match against South Africa. Samson made a fourth-wicket winning partnership along with Tilak Varma and took the Indian team to a score of 296/8 in the first innings on a challenging batting wicket. In return, South Africa scored 218 runs and gave India a 78-run victory, leading to their second ODI series victory against the Proteas on South African soil in the last five years.

Sanju Samson has been in the spotlight of criticism for many days because he could not access the opportunities offered to him in the Indian cricket team. Samson scored 12 runs in the second ODI match in Port Elizabeth.

Sanju Samson was part of the Indian cricket team during the 2023 Asia Cup as a reserve player, however, he was brought back once KL Rahul returned to the team. During the same period, Samson was also not picked for the 2023 Asian Games squad, which surprised many cricket experts. It was also reported that Sanju Samson missed out on a deal with the county because he was part of the Indian squad for the 2023 Asia Cup.

Aside from the criticism, there has also been a lobby that has continued to support Sanju Samson and target the Indian coach. Samson has been in and out of the Indian team and was also not picked for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

With Sanju Samson scoring his first international hundred, the right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman will want to continue his good performance and cement his place in the Indian team.