Sanju Samson to play his first Ranji Trophy game after a gap of three years, begins practice in Kochi

Samson
begins
practice

With
some
good
performances
in
Ranji
Trophy
–
where
he’ll
be
leading
the
side
as
well
–
Samson
will
be
looking
to
put
up
some
good
performances
for
his
team.
The
glovesman
has
also
started
practising
in
Kochi
for
the
tournament.

Samson’s
last
FC
game

It
will
be
the
first
instance
in
three
years
when
the
cricketer
will
be
playing
a
red-ball
format
game.
His
last
First-Class
game
came
in
the
year
2019
when
he
played
for
Kerala
against
Gujarat,
which
the
latter
won
by
70
runs.

Samson
had
a
forgettable
outing
in
the
first
innings
as
he
scored
just
5
runs.
However,
in
the
second
essay,
the
right-handed
batter
scored
78
off
82
balls
as
his
team
folded
for
268
in
the
fourth
innings.

Reason
behind
Samson’s
snub

When
asked
about
the
possible
reasons
for
not
including
him
in
the
playing
eleven,
stand-in
India
captain
Shikhar
Dhawan
called
it
a
tactical
move.

The
28-year-old
could
only
get
to
play
one
match
out
of
the
six
matches
in
New
Zealand.
While
rain
affected
four
matches
during
the
course
of
the
T20I
and
ODI
series.

While
explaining
the
reasoning
for
snubbing
Samson,
Dhawan
said,
“Mostly
every
player
goes
through
this
phase
of
not
being
in
the
playing
XI,
even
if
they
have
performed
well
last
series.
Communication
is
the
key,
coaches
and
captains
speak
with
players.
Players
like
Samson
then
have
clarity
as
to
why
he
is
not
picked
for
the
team.
Basically,
it
is
all
about
the
benefit
of
the
team,
and
due
to
team
combinations.”

What
is
the
way
forward
for
Samson?

The
talented
batter
–
who
has
been
IN
and
OUT
of
the
national
side
–
will
be
presenting
his
case
for
India
comeback
in
the
upcoming
home
season
starting
next
month.
India
will
be
playing
Sri
Lanka,
Australia
and
New
Zealand
in
the
home
series.
Sri
Lanka
will
tour
India
for
three
T20Is
and
as
many
T20Is
and
he
will
be
hoping
to
make
a
comeback.