Among the players to have played two matches so far this IPL season, Sanju Samson ranks number one with 159 runs for Rajasthan Royals.
In the team’s tournament opener vs CSK on 22 September, Samson scored 74 runs, caught two catches and affected two stumpings. A performance that earned him the Man of the Match award and also much praise from retired Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir as well as Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.
While Gambhir said Samson was the best keeper-batsmen in India right now, he also took a dig at the BCCI for not giving enough opportunities to the Kerala cricketer, who has appeared in just four T20Is for the country.
Following the same match, Shashi Tharoor said he was ‘proud’ of Samson for his performance and his clean “proper cricketing shots” that he pulled off with ‘minimal fuss & sublime timing’.
But once Samson again played a match-winning knock for Rajasthan on Sunday, vs Kings XI Punjab, two of his most high-profile fans took to Twitter to share their joy.
While Shashi Tharoor – using simple words – complimented Samson and said a world-class player had arrived while sharing an anecdote of a young Samson saying he would be the next MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir disagreed.
The BJP MP pointed out that ‘Sanju Samson doesn’t need to be next anyone. He will be ‘the’ Sanju Samson of Indian Cricket’.
Both men complimenting the same man, but managing to disagree at the same time.
Stay tuned for Round 3 after Rajasthan‘s third match, versus Kolkata Knight Riders.
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