Follow UsIt was a strange decision and one that nobody could make any sense of as Sanju Samson walked out to bat number six in the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) 2025 match between his side, Kochi Blue Tigers and Alleppey Ripples on August 23 (Saturday) at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
But more than the number at which he batted, it was his shot selection that made people think about the seriousness of his approach, as he batted for 22 balls, did not hit a single boundary and scored only 13 runs before getting out to Jalaj Saxena.
It was the first outing for Samson after he was named in India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad. Samson’s name popped up in the last line of the squad announcement tweet, even after Jitesh Sharma, suggesting that he might not be the first-choice opener or wicketkeeper for the side, especially after Shubman Gill’s inclusion in the side as vice captain.
Samson, in his T20I career for India, has 861 runs in 38 innings at an average of 25.32 and a strike rate of 152.39. He has three centuries to his name in just 38 innings, making him the best full-member batter on the century per innings matrix.
It would be interesting to see if Samson plays any more games in the league, as he has not been named in the Duleep Trophy 2025 South Zone squad. The Duleep Trophy will begin on August 28.
In the previous match for the Blue Tigers, he was not required to bat as his team won by eight wickets.