'Going to be a waste of such God-given talent' - Sunil Gavaskar wants Sanju Samson to improve his shot-selection

Former India captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar reckons that Sanju Samson needs to be patient in his batting and not look to go for the big shorts right from the onset. Gavaskar suggested that not even a batter in the best of forms could always hit the first ball out of the park, which Samson needs to understand, or else it will be a waste of “God-given talent”.

Gavaskar pointed out the need for batters to get their eyes in before trying to go for the big shots, while he stated that Samson’s shot selection has let him down. The Rajasthan Royal skipper was dismissed for just four off five balls against Punjab Kings.

“What has let him down is the shot selection. Even at the international level, he doesn’t open the batting there. He was the second or the third wicket down. And he looks to hit the first ball out of the ground. That is impossible. That is absolutely impossible even if you’ve been in the richest vein of form. You have got to maybe knock it around for maybe twos and threes and get the feet moving and then look to play,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

“That is something he is going to watch out for. Because otherwise, it is going to be a waste of such God-given talent. I have always said that a lot of shot selection boils down to temperament. That is what separates the men from the boys. And therefore, for him to go on and be a regular player for India, his shot selection has to be that much better,” said Gavaskar.

Rajasthan pull off a ‘Royal’ heist

As for Royals’ last game, they pulled off an incredible heist thanks to some serious death bowling by Mustafizur Rahman and Kartik Tyagi. After having set their rivals Punjab Kings a 186-run target, Royals looked all but out of winning contention as the Kings needed merely 10 runs off 15 balls.

However, the twist in the tale was yet to arrive, with the situation further going down to four needed off the last over, bowling which a 20-year-old Tyagi conceded just a solitary run and bagged two wickets to secure his team the unlikeliest of victories.