Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar praised Sanju Samson ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.

Manjrekar had earlier backed Sanju Samson over Pant as India’s second-choice wicketkeeper for CT 2025. Pant has been brilliant for India in Test cricket so far, winning many games for his team. However, his records in ODIs and T20Is are not too impressive. However, it has immense potential to change things in any game format.

On the other hand, Samson has a good ODI record in the limited 50-over internationals he has played so far. Recently, he has been in excellent form in T20Is for India and has shown how destructive he can be when he gets going.

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Sanjay Manjrekar greets Sanju Samson

When asked about Sanju Samson’s mantra for his recent success in T20I cricket, Sanjay Manjekar stated that Samson seems more confident and is putting more price on his wicket.

“Self-confidence, little maturity and he values ​​his ground a little more. He plays long innings and not just once, but repeatedly. Some people bloom a little late and Sanju Samson is like that,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

Manjrekar further pointed out that Samson is now looking to bat a lot, which is working for him. According to him, he was batting well earlier too, but there was no consistency.

“I am a big admirer of him now. Earlier it seemed like he was batting well, but where were the runs? Now the batting is powerful, even the runs are there,” observed the former India batsman.

I am glad to see the kind of success you have been blessed with currently – Sanjay Bangar on Sanju Samson

Meanwhile, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar was also highly impressed with Sanju Samson and praised the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman for his six-hitting ability. Bangar opined that the team management led by Gautam Gambhir giving a longer rope to Sanju Samson has worked in their favour.

“I’m glad to see the kind of success he’s been blessed with today. He’s been there for a long time. It’s just that he gets the right opportunities and a good run of opportunities because every batsman, if he plays three or four games in a row, that gives him releases a little,” he said.

“Batting in the order, he doesn’t really have to worry about the situation. The pitch is up and he is a six-hitter. He can hit sixes with ease. After Yuvraj Singh, if there is a batsman who can do it so easily and consistently, it has to be Sanju Samson, so seeing him firing on all cylinders is a joy to watch,” Bangar observed.

Samson’s excellent track record in white-ball formats makes a strong case for Team India in the Champions Trophy. However, he has not played an ODI since December 2023, which may work against him.

KL Rahul has a great chance of being selected in the team after impressive performances in the ODI format in the middle order. Rahul has played 2851 runs in 77 ODIs at an average of 49.15 and a strike rate of 87.56, making it difficult for him not to be considered again.

Rishabh Pant does not have impressive ODI numbers that can count against him. However, the selectors have shown faith in the left-hander’s devastating ability regardless of the format.

Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant’s ODI numbers

Sanju Samson boasts an impressive ODI record of 510 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60. The 30-year-old right-hander has hit one hundred and three fifties in his ODI career so far.

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant has played 43 ODIs so far and scored 2948 runs at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 106.21 with one hundred and five fifties. He participated in India’s last ODI played in August 2024 against Sri Lanka.