India will be touring Sri Lanka in the month of July. BCCI recently announced the squad for the tour. All the veterans will be busy with the World Test Championship Final and therefore the youngsters will take on the responsibility on this tour.
Sanju Samson was picked as one of the wicket-keepers on the tour and is expected to be the first choice keeper. Aakash Chopra shared some advice for Sanju Samson. Aakash Chopra wants Sanju Samson to take a leaf out of MS Dhoni’s book and adopt a carefree approach instead of a careless one.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra observed that Sanju Samson can learn from MS Dhoni when asked if the stylish batsman will change his playing style in the ODIs against Sri Lanka and be a little more conservative.
“I don’t know if he will get a chance in ODI or T20I. Sanju has clearly said that he will play like that only. There is a fine line between being carefree and careless. Being carefree is MS Dhoni and we have seen other players being careless quite a few times.
Sanju Samson should play according to the situation – Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra pointed out that Sanju Samson needs to play as per the demands of the situation. The upcoming series will be the litmus test for the wicket-keeper batter for Kerala to cement a berth in the shorter formats.
“If he gets a chance in the ODIs, I will expect him to play as per the situation and leave everything else aside. You need to see what the pitch is demanding and what the scoreboard is demanding. That’s about it.”
The cricketer-turned commentator believes that Sanju Samson’s stint as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals has made him more mature.
“Other than that, everything is irrelevant. If you are chasing 8-10 runs per over, you have to hit and if three or four wickets have fallen, you will need to play carefully. Now he is an IPL captain as well, his maturity will be seen this time.”
Sanju Samson showed signs of his growing maturity towards the latter stages of IPL 2021. His knock against the Kolkata Knight Riders and the supporting act he played to Jos Buttler versus the Sunrisers Hyderabad drew praise from cricket experts.