Sanju Samson's glorious inconsistencies - Indian cricket's biggest paradox

On 12th April 2021, Sanju Samson walked into a cauldron of pressure at the Wankhede Stadium, with the Rajasthan Royals chasing 221 for victory against the Punjab Kings. Prior to that game, Samson had seen his stock fall courtesy of a string of unconvincing displays towards the fag end of IPL 2020.

Yet that moment seemed the perfect opportunity for the wicket-keeper to remind the world what he was capable of. And, of course, let everyone know that he was just as good as any other batting alternative across the country.

Over the course of the next hour and a bit, Samson showcased his entire repertoire of strokes, often personifying an artist crafting a masterpiece. He played the short ball well, tackled the spinners excellently and produced the big shots almost at will.

Unsurprisingly, he creamed his way to a sumptuous ton, which incidentally was the first hundred scored by any player in the 2021 edition of the IPL. Even though he couldn’t carry his team across the line, there was still palpable optimism – optimism that Samson had, after years of flattering to deceive, finally come of age.

That, in addition to the fact that Samson has endured several false dawns previously, meant that he was touted for great things in the IPL and whatever chances that came his way thereafter.

None of that has materialized so far and as things stand, the murmurs of Samson having turned a corner have quietened significantly. In fact, plenty have been quick to label the wicket-keeper as an overrated cricketer and one that should, at least in the near future, not don the Indian blue.

Guess #SanjuSamson is testing the temperament of the selectors instead. Not sure with this talent pool, selectors will be patient with him as the selectors were once with #RohitSharma. His weakness with spinners is alarming. In present times, 10 T20Is is a luxury. #INDvSL

— G. S. Vivek (@GSV1980) July 29, 2021

However, among all the debris that he often leaves behind, especially when not scoring, there still remains a Sanju Samson capable of rattling even the most astute bowler’s cage. Additionally, there also exists a Sanju Samson capable of producing the ineptest display imaginable of any professional cricketer. And that, above everything else, encapsulates the wicket-keeper’s career.

For a major chunk of the previous decade, Samson has been labelled as the answer to India’s wicket-keeping woes, post MS Dhoni. To that end, he has even conjured a few magical knocks – knocks that have drawn collective gasps of admiration from across the globe.

Unfortunately, massive strides forward have almost always been followed by two giant steps in the opposite direction, meaning that whenever Samson has walked out lately, he has had to shoulder extraordinary pressure. That, though, is something that can solely be attributed to Samson.

Since the start of 2018, the wicket-keeper has played 66 innings in T20 cricket. On a few instances, he has left a lasting impression – an impression that his talent warrants. During that phase, he has notched up a couple of tons as well, that too against the Punjab Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Apart from those, he only has seven fifty-plus scores in 64 innings, which illustrates his inconsistencies.

Sanju Samson has been very inconsistent in T20 cricket

Rather remarkably, in the aforementioned period, there has been just a solitary occasion when Samson has gotten three consecutive 40-plus scores – an event that unfolded during the 2021 edition of the IPL, when he posted those scores against the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Mumbai Indians and SRH.

Consistency has been an elusive virtue for Sanju Samson (Credits: IPLT20)

Subsequently, an argument could be that made he seldom converts a good knock into a purple patch – a trait that batters less talented than Samson have mastered exquisitely.

As far as his batting is concerned, there are quite a few flaws that he might need to iron out. Firstly, for a batter blessed with as many strokes as Samson, he seems to find the fielders too often. Since 2018, he has been dismissed caught 42 times out of 61. And, if one does the math, the percentage hovers a shade under 69.

Sanju Samson finds the fielders too often for a batter of his caliber

There could be a couple of explanations for the same. One could be that Samson just gets too complacent, especially after having a good score behind him. In the process, he often tries shots that might not be ideal in the circumstances.

Another reason could be that he gets carried away, which considering the effortlessness in his batting, isn’t a massive surprise. He then tries to manufacture a shot that simply isn’t there and has to bear the brunt of his miscalculations.

Additionally, the wicket-keeper seems to have portrayed chinks in his batting armour against spin bowling. In the recent series against Sri Lanka, Akila Dananjaya and Wanindu Hasaranga had Samson on toast and made the latter dance to their tunes.

Akila Dananjaya was brilliant against Samson

Alarmingly though, in the final T20I, Samson forewent his natural tendency to get forward. Instead, he hung back and was trapped when Hasaranga neatly slipped in a flatter, quicker but relatively fuller delivery. That, above all, indicated Samson’s cluttered mindset.

Moreover, the wicket-keeper might not be as mentally strong as some of his contemporaries, meaning that he might require a longer rope than most others, just to show the world what he can do.

Thus, as things stand, there seem to be several fundamental problems with Samson. He is neither getting the requisite volume of runs nor is he regularly creating the sort of impact he is well and truly capable of. And if that wasn’t enough, he is also finding ways to get out and crumble under pressure.

Under ordinary circumstances, the aforementioned would’ve been the death knell for any international cricketer, more so for one hailing from India – a country that easily boasts the largest talent pool. Yet Samson, despite what people might’ve perceived owing to his struggles against Sri Lanka, is far from being just an ordinary cricketer.

Samson has talent and bags of it, make no mistake about it. In fact, that is perhaps what has accorded a batter who averages 11.7 and strikes at 110.37 in T20Is, so many opportunities. And if you were to stretch it a little further, Samson is arguably the best batter to feast on a surface where the ball isn’t deviating sideways.

Unfortunately though, such situations rarely come to fruition in international cricket. It happens intermittently in the IPL and when it does, Samson looks every ounce of the player that he has always been earmarked to become.

For now, there is an enormous discrepancy in the talent he boasts and the output that India are getting. As long as this trend continues, Samson might find it extremely tough to break into the Men In Blue’s squad, let alone make their playing eleven frequently.

Sanju Samson is not just the best wicketkeeper batsmen in India but the best young batsman in India! Anyone up for debate?

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) September 22, 2020

However, there is something special about this lad from Kerala – one that forces the cricketing fraternity to keep coming back to him, irrespective of whether he is making the most of the chances being presented to him.

In blunter terms, when on song, he can make the most fearsome bowlers look pretty average and that is a quality that isn’t very ubiquitous. Knocks such as the one against the Punjab Kings in April 2021 is a testament to it.

And that perhaps explains why Sanju Samson’s glorious inconsistencies are Indian cricket’s greatest paradox. You want to move away from it because the records say so and conventional wisdom dictates it. Yet, you can’t. You just can’t.