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Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson will turn up for Kerala in the second round of the Ranji Trophy, commencing on Friday, October 18. Kerala kickstarted their campaign with a dominant eight-wicket win over Punjab in Thiruvananthapuram.
When the Sachin Baby-led side were fighting in the first innings, Sanju Samson was breathing fire at the top of the order in national colors. The right-handed batter had struck a sublime ton in the third T20I against Bangladesh at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
The memorable performance does keep him in the scheme of things for the upcoming white-ball tour of South Africa, especially with the majority of the first-team members involved in the preparation for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With Samson not a part of the ongoing Test series against New Zealand, he is available to play for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy, beginning with the second-round clash against Karnataka.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, despite Samson's return, it will be veteran Sachin Baby, who will lead the team.
Samson had recently featured in the Duleep Trophy, where he scored a ton against India B while representing India B. The 29-year-old had played four matches in the previous edition of the Ranji Trophy to contribute 190 runs at an average of 35.40 as Kerala finished fourth in Elite Group B.
"My desire is to play Test cricket for India" - Sanju Samson
Samson had recently spoken about his goal to play red-ball cricket for India. The wicketkeeper-batter made his national debut as early as 2016 in white-ball cricket and has even played 64 first-class matches, but a Test call-up has always eluded him.
“I believe I have the skill set to succeed in red-ball cricket and I just don’t want to restrict myself to white-ball cricket. My desire is to play Test cricket for India. Before the Duleep Trophy, the leadership group had told me that they were considering me for red-ball cricket and asked me to take it seriously and play more Ranji Trophy matches," Samson told media via Sportstar.
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has always rated Samson quite highly, and he has availed a lot of opportunities since the former player's appointment. His run of luck could extend into the longest format as well if he is among the runs at the domestic level and keeps knocking on the selectors' door.
