Sanju Samson made a huge statement to the selectors with a magnificent hundred in the Duleep Trophy. Playing for India D, Samson blasted a brutal 95-ball hundred against India C. Samson came to bat after the fall of Shreyas Iyer for a duck, at a team score of 175, and helped the team go past the 300-run mark. This was Sanju Samson's 11th first class hundred. Samson was not named in the initial Duleep Trophy squad, however, he was added as a replacement for Ishan Kishan. Samson has scored over 3700 runs in first-class cricket at a healthy average of 38.20.
Samson is one of the most talented cricketers in the country, but he hasn't been a regular member of the Indian side. Samson has played mostly in B teams when the main players were rested. He made his debut for India in 2015, however, in nearly 10 years, he only played 16 ODIs and 30 T20Is for the country. He is way behind in the queue for a place in the India squad, but performances like these will help him grab eyeballs.
India already have Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan and KL Rahul as wicketkeeper-batter options so making a cut to the squad won't be easy, but if he can show consistency, which has lacked in his entire career so far, he could be in the reckoning at some point in his career.
Shreyas Iyer's Career In Jeopardy
While Samson's Test career might go up after the knock, India D captain Shreyas Iyer's Test career seems to be in jeopardy. Iyer bagged his second duck of the Duleep Trophy season. Iyer was left out of the India squad owing to inconsistent outings and he did not do himself any good with his recent performances. A BCCI official recently said that it will be tough for Iyer to make a comeback to the Test side anytime soon.