Sanju Samson eyes India Test debut after scoring maiden T20I hundred against Bangladesh
New Delhi: Following his impressive maiden T20I century against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, S...
New Delhi: Following his impressive maiden T20I century against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, Sanju Samson is now aiming to secure a place in India’s Test team.
After hitting the second-fastest century by an Indian in just 40 balls against Bangladesh, Sanju Samson expressed his ambition to play Test cricket for India. The 29-year-old has also joined the Kerala squad for their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka in Bengaluru, starting Friday.
“I believe I have the skill set to succeed in red-ball cricket and I just don’t want to restrict myself to white-ball cricket. My desire is to play Test cricket for India. Before the Duleep Trophy, the leadership group had told me they were considering me for red-ball cricket and asked to take it seriously and play more Ranji Trophy matches,” Samson told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
Samson recently played for India D in the second and third rounds of the Duleep Trophy in Anantapur, where he notched his 11th First-Class century in just his second appearance. Last season, the Kerala batter participated in four Ranji Trophy matches, amassing 176 runs, but unfortunately, his team did not advance to the knockout stage.
“My preparation was good this time around. After the series against Sri Lanka, I trained at the RR (Rajasthan Royals) Academy with Rahul Dravid sir and Zubin Bharucha and worked on my game. The century in the Duleep Trophy has given me a lot of confidence as it came against some of the best bowlers in the country,” Samson added.
Kerala, led by Sachin Baby, earned an eight-wicket win over Punjab in their Elite C group opener in Thumba on Monday. Kerala have also included pacer Basil NP into the squad which includes professional spinners Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarvate and all-rounder Baba Aparajith.
In their first First-Class match for Kerala, Aditya Sarvate and Baba Aparajith played crucial roles in the team’s comeback victory over Punjab, collectively claiming 13 wickets.
