Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson need to be consistent in the IPL, can’t be complacent after one good innings: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar called Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson enigmas, finding them hard to understand. Both Pant and Samson have shown immense talent with thunderous performances, but somehow luck and inconsistencies haven’t helped their cause by any means.

Manjrekar, who’s also a popular commentator, said that Pant adds the X-factor with his explosive batting and has the potential to win games for teams from near-hopeless scenarios. About Samson, he stated that the youngster throws caution to the wind and his batting can take one’s breath away.

However, the 55-year-old also understands that even as talent, class and potential indeed matter, they need to be translated into performances. Manjrekar put forth his opinions on Star Sports’ show Cricket Connected.

Talent is there, class is there: Sanjay Manjrekar

“People like Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson, for me as an analyst watching the players and trying to make an assessment, sometimes predictions go right or wrong, they are both slightly enigmatic for me,” Manjrekar told.

“Rishabh Pant, definitely there is something there. There is an X-factor and he will suddenly win you games in 10 minutes, that you thought you were losing. Sanju Samson as well, the kind of batting that he has got when he is on song, he just takes your breath away,” he stated.

“But finally, consistency and generally winning performances is important, there is so much cricket happening and people clamouring for a batting position. Talent is there, class is there, potential is there but finally I am going to look at Sanju Samson’s performances and Rishabh Pant’s numbers as well to make a judgement on them,” Manjrekar added.

The IPL is set to start on September 19 and Manjrekar stated that Pant and Samson need to show consistency. “So, it is another big IPL and all everyone wants from them is consistency. It can’t be one good innings and then 3-4 failures where it seems that you have just thrown it away,” he added.

While Pant is with the Delhi Capitals (DC), Samson plies his trade for the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Both the players are also being deemed as MS Dhoni’s successor. Pant last played in the two-match Test series in New Zealand, though he missed out from the ODIs and T20Is. KL Rahul was preferred over him as the specialist wicketkeeper.

On the same tour, Samson got chances, albeit he couldn’t grab them with both hands. Both the keepers will be looking for strong shows in the IPL set to take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).