When talking about Sanju Samson, being a neutral is not an option

Picture this: your favourite Indian Premier League team has navigated its way into the playoffs and is within one game of reaching the summit clash. They’ve lost the toss, though, and under testing circumstances, are inserted into bat. One of the openers scratches around for a few deliveries before hopelessly wafting at a wide ball and departing.

The opener at the other end is regarded as one of the best on the planet. He has scored truckloads of runs this season too. But for some reason, he isn’t quite hitting his straps. It could be pressure. It could be the stress of an exhausting IPL campaign. But then, all of a sudden, that particular aspect takes a backseat.

Not because that opener stars rollicking along at a rattling tempo, but because another batter, who many have grown to adore but also an individual many have gotten frustrated with, has rolled up his sleeves and decided to take matters into his own hands.

This lad, apart from being the most aesthetically pleasing batter in the country, also happens to have been touted for greatness since a very young age. For years, it has looked like he will never be able to fulfil his true potential. Tonight, though, it feels that everything has finally fallen into place – like it was always meant to.

He destroys one of the best bowling attacks in the IPL. Scores a sensational century. Laps up the applause of thousands at the ground and grins from ear to ear. Oh, and his IPL team also make the final, meaning that this knock, which is probably the best anyone has ever seen in the shortest format, counts for something. More importantly, it makes thousands (even millions) fall in love with him. It is, if anything, an essay capable of garlanding him with cult status.

Cut to reality. The Rajasthan Royals find themselves in an eerily similar predicament against the Gujarat Titans. Jos Buttler has not rediscovered his mojo, and Yashasvi Jaiswal has perished after a patchy 8-ball knock that fetched him three runs.

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Sanju Samson produced a thunderous assault against the Titans

But Sanju Samson does not care. He puffs out his chest, waltz out to the middle and choose chaos. The first ball he faces is on a length and he nonchalantly lifts it over long on. He does not even look where the ball is headed. A wave of the wand and he knows where it will end up. That sort of bravado, confidence and slight arrogance endears him to countless RR fans.

It continues for a fair chunk of the powerplay. Samson dismisses whatever he doesn’t like and tells the world that he wants to dominate Qualifier 1. This, by the way, is coming in the backdrop of him being omitted from India’s squad for the T20I series against South Africa. These elements, though, are purely academic for the moment, considering there is a bigger prize at stake.

But then, as it almost always happens with Samson, he plays a stroke too many. To an extent, his hands are tied because Buttler has hit a submerged log. For those on social media, however, that does not matter.

From a broader perspective, Samson, when he tries to loft R Sai Kishore over his head and perishes, loses an opportunity to make his mark. There is lots of love for the way he approached the game. Yet, he will only be remembered and criticized for the one stroke he didn’t quite get right.

That, in a nutshell, is what most Indian cricketers have to go through. In a country where everyone has an opinion on how cricket should be played, it isn’t very surprising either. What is astonishing, though, is that cricketers of Samson’s ilk almost always seem to get the tougher end of the deal.

It’s not that Samson has been faultless throughout his career. It’s just that he is thrown to the wolves more often and quicker than a lot of other people. It could be because his style is slightly more flamboyant than what might align itself to the conventional order. Or, it could be because he can be so good on some days that it clouds the judgement around him on other occasions.

Against the Titans, when Samson decided to counter-attack, all of his supporters were gushing over the intent he was showing. They were, pretty much, involved in jaw-dropping motions every time the wicket-keeper crunched it. But as soon as he got out, the doubters were at it, lambasting another irresponsible shot and delivering a verdict that Samson was just an overrated cricketer.

For someone who is still relatively young, the RR skipper has become quite a polarizing figure already. There is simply nothing in between. You will hardly find anyone who’ll say they like Samson but only in patches. Or that they won’t like his style of batting until he foregoes his happy-go-lucky approach.

It also becomes very hard then to gauge what constitutes an acceptable performance for Samson. Against the Titans, he was probably the only reason Buttler had time to find the mojo many thought he had lost. His dismissal, though, also played a crucial role in RR stalling through the middle overs. He has scored more than 400 runs this season at a strike rate in excess of 150 but he hasn’t really grabbed the tournament by the scruff of its neck so far.

India, prior to announcing their squad for the series against South Africa, thought that that wasn’t enough to warrant selection. For RR on Tuesday, it wasn’t enough to win a clutch contest. But like all things with Samson, it can suddenly become good enough. When that happens, all the frustration and moans and groans will morph instantly into adulation.

And the best part is nobody will really be able to do anything about it. You could love him to pieces. Or you could admonish him for wasting his talent. But you can’t not choose one particular side. It’s just how it is meant to be for an enigma like him.

Samson lives on the edge. He has lived on it all his life. It will not change in a day. Or in a month. Or in an eternity. It’s just something the cricketing fraternity has to accept. You either love him or you don’t. End of.