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Samson will open for India in the five-match T20I series against England, which starts on January 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Sanjay Bangar compares Yuvraj Singh with Sanju Samson. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar has compared wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson with legendary Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and said if there’s one batter who can hit sixes with ease like the hero of India’s 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup title win, then it has to be Samson. Samson, who made his international debut for India in 2015, was in red-hot form in 2024. He was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad, and then he created history by becoming the first player in the world to hit three T20I centuries in a calendar year.
Samson scored his first triple-digit score in T20Is during the match played against Bangladesh in Hyderabad on October 12. He scored 111 runs in that match and helped India post a total of 297 runs on the board. His next two centuries in the shortest format of the game came against South Africa during the first (107) and fourth (109*) T20Is, which were played in Durban and Johannesburg, respectively.
Impressed by Samson’s batting performances in recent matches for India, Bangar said, “Glad to see the kind of success that he has been blessed with currently. He has been there for a long time. It’s just that he has got the right opportunities and a good run of opportunities because every batter, if he is playing three or four matches in a row, that frees him a little bit.”
“Batting up the order, he doesn’t really have to worry about the situation. The field is up, and he is a six-hitter. He can hit sixes with ease. After Yuvraj Singh, if there is one batter who can do it with such ease on a consistent basis, it has to be Sanju Samson. So just to see him firing on all cylinders is a treat to watch,” Bangar added.
Samson was informed by the team management in advance that he would open the innings in the home series against Bangladesh in October, and the role clarity helped him prepare well. He made the most of the opportunities that came his way and finished the year on a high.
The 30-year-old cricketer from Kerala will next be seen in action for the Men in Blue against England during the five-match T20I series, which starts on January 22 in Kolkata.
