Sanju Samson is making all the right noise at the moment in IPL 2020 with the bat. He has scored 159 runs from two matches including two back to back fifties. Despite showing his talent year after year in the IPL, Samson is not given a longer run at the international level.
He was recently included for the T20I series against Bangladesh and then New Zealand earlier this year. The Kerala wicket-keeper batsman is being seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket by many former Indian cricketers as well.
Sanju Samson Recalls Pep Talk With Virat Kohli
Talking to India Today recently, Samson spoke about a pep talk he had with Virat Kohli during his stint with the Indian team. He remembered a conversation he had with Kohli at the gym.
“When I was in the gym with the Indian team, I was there with Virat bhai. I asked him what is his training routine and how he puts so much energy into fitness. I kept on asking him a lot of such different questions. Then he asked me ‘Sanju how many years are you going to play cricket’, so I said that I am 25 right now, and I can play for another 10 years or so,” Samson was quoted as saying by India Today.
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Samson, also fondly remembers the reply to this query by Virat Kohli, which he says changed the way he looked at cricket, by his own admission.
“Then Virat told me, after 10 years you can do whatever, you can eat food from Kerala and whatever else you want to do, but you won’t be able to play cricket after these 10 years. So, why don’t you give everything, whatever you have, to cricket in these 10 years.”
“So, he really changed my perspective, my dedication towards cricket. I was already very dedicated, but this made me further change the way I think,” Samson recalled saying.
After scoring two back to back fifties in Sharjah, it will be interesting to see how Samson adapts to playing in Dubai against KKR with the ground bigger in dimensions and having to deal with quality spin bowling.
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