'He has to be consistent'- Veteran pacer S Sreesanth urges Sanju Samson to perform well in First-Class cricket

Veteran India pacer Shanthakumaran Sreesanth has given a strong verdict on  Sanju Samson after the latter could not make it to India's 15-member squad for the next month's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia despite being a proven performer in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Commenting on the same, Sreesanth said that only performing consistently in the IPL will not help in any manner as the Kerala wicketkeeper batter must prove his mettle in First-Class cricket as well. While Samson might be regularly featuring in the IPL over the years, he last made his First-Class appearance in December 2019 when Kerala locked horns with Gujarat in Surat.

I’m somebody who has always supported him: Sreesanth

“He has to be consistent. See, everyone is talking about the IPL. I’m from Kerala, I’m somebody who has always supported him. I’ve seen him play from U14. He has played under me. In fact, I was the one who gave him the cap on his Ranji Trophy debut. But the way I see him… it’s a request to him – he has to start performing in first-class matches,” Sreesanth told Hindustan Times.

“Yes, IPL is very important. IPL will give him fame, popularity, and riches, everything across the globe. But I have this strong feeling – for any cricketer for that matter – that they need to start doing extremely well for the state side, especially in first-class cricket. Sanju has to come out and perform in first-class matches. Not just score a hundred, score 200s. Come and make the Kerala team win the Ranji Trophy! Make Kerala team win the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Then, the Kerala cricketers will come out on top,” the 39-year-old added.

Samson had led India A in the recently concluded three-match unofficial one-dayers against New Zealand A where the hosts (India A) successfully went on to register a 3-0 clean sweep. The Rajasthan Royals skipper managed to score one half-century and his scores in the series read as 29*, 37, and, 54. 

While he is not in the squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against  South Africa starting Wednesday, September 28, according to reports, he could be in the scheme of things as far as the selection is concerned for the subsequent ODI series.