Sanju Samson delighted after delivering in his new role

Sanju Samson

Following his match-winning knocks for India A in the recently concluded Quadrangular A-Team One-day tournament in Australia, content with the way he has adapted to his new role of playing as a finisher, Sanju Samson has said that he has learnt the art of adapting according to the demands of the match situation.

"I am not used to playing in the middle/lower order. I took the opportunity and I always wanted to finish games for my team and be not out at the end. I was not out in four innings and I learnt how a batsman needs to convert his game according to the situation, playing in different conditions and bowlers, especially down the order,” the Kerala batsman was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

The 19-year-old is touted to be the best among his generation of players and as the one who can potentially replace Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after his retirement, for quite a few years now. However, there was a growing concern over his approach to an innings, as he continued to waste his starts after settling in. Some of those dismissals led to the commentators and columnists suggest that he still have to fine tune his innings-building qualities to announce himself on the international stage.

Samson was the leading run-scorer of the tournament, guiding India to a spectacular title triumph. Batting in the lower-middle order, he tasted remarkable success, anchoring a couple of tough chases after top order collapses and finished the tournament with an average of 81.33. The Trivandrum-born, who began his cricketing lessons in Delhi, scored 244 runs in 7 innings, inspite of being run out for 5 in the finals.

Wicket-keeping helps to be involved in the game

Commenting on his wicket-keeping skills, the Rajasthan Royals lad mentioned that it helps him to stay focussed on the game: "I like to be involved in the game as much as I can. Keeping [to] every single ball keeps you involved. It was an interesting experience and I kept in all seven matches and in those conditions it was a very good experience for me. I do know that I have to work a bit more on my wicketkeeping when I go back home".

When asked about being given the future of India tag, the Under-19 star played down the expectations.

"There are crores of players playing cricket and they all want to play for India. They know that India is a strong team and it's tough to get in. But as I said I don't want to think on those lines. I am happy to be playing good tournaments.

"I started playing the game just to enjoy myself, not to play for India or do miracles and I had started to win games for my team. I see myself as an improved and mature cricketer day by day and I am learning from each and every game I play. I've seen a lot of improvements in my game in the last year," concluded Samson.