Leg and off: Should Sanju Samson be India's first-choice wicketkeeper at 2024 T20 World Cup?
Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson made a resounding statement by scoring 86 runs off 46 deliveries in the high-scoring encounter against the Delhi Capitals (DC). The fact that it came an hour after Rishabh Pant's shoddy outing, helped a lot. Samson won a tight race to be selected as one of the wicketkeepers for the 2024 T20 World Cup, but that is only a job half done.
Samson's prolific 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign forced the selectors to consider him as an option in the 15-man squad. After missing out on the 2022 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup, the right-handed batter was all set to be overlooked by the selectors for the 2024 T20 World Cup as well. He had not fared well despite opportunities in the away series against the West Indies and recorded a golden duck in his last T20I appearance.
However, his red-hot form, coupled with the downfall of the likes of Jitesh Sharma and KL Rahul featuring only in the top order, and the pair of Dinesh Karthik and Ishan Kishan not being considered, facilitated his inclusion in the World Cup squad.
Sanju Samson is currently well in the mix for the Orange Cap and has been playing in line with the demands of the modern game. In a straightforward world, that would be more than enough to walk into the national team for the World Cup, but as history has taught us, nothing about the Men in Blue is straightforward.
On that note, let us take a look at where Samson stands in the wicket-keeper race against Pant ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
#1 Sanju Samson's prowess against spin makes him a tempting option
With both being operators in the middle order and assuming that the surfaces in the Caribbean will be slow and low, batting against spin bowling will be one of the boxes that the batters will be expected to tick. The way Samson negotiated Kuldeep recently and spin bowling, in general, is a stark contrast to how Pant has fared against the tweakers, with his clumsy dismissal against Yuzvendra Chahal highlighting the concern in bold.
Samson has been striking at 145.79 against spin bowling and is yet to be dismissed by a spinner, which reflects his sheer dominance in the middle phase. As far as Pant is concerned, he has been unable to shake off the biggest doubt that people still cast over him. Although his fitness and strokeplay against pace have improved to a degree, his ability to attack the spinners consistently remains as doubtful as ever.
The left-handed batter has already been dismissed five times against spin bowling in IPL 2024 and boasts only a strike rate of 114.91.
Both Pant and Samson have struck the same number of sixes against spinners in IPL 2024 (six each), but what sets them apart is how they approach them.
Samson is a calculated customer against spinners and does not let them put pressure on him. He effortlessly ticks past them, which is reflected through just the 21 dot balls out of 107 balls that he has faced against them. More than half of the total deliveries (65) have been singles.
Whereas, in this same department, Pant has recorded 40 dot balls and 55 singles out of the 114 deliveries this season.
#2 Difference between Samson's batting role at RR and potential role with Team India
Samson is the focal point of RR's batting unit, particularly when the openers falter. Although the RR openers have had credible campaigns on paper, they have not clicked together as a unit like before, resulting in Samson coming to bat inside the powerplay itself.
However, Sanju Samson's potential role in Indian colors is completely different. With a stacked top four, the wicketkeeper's services with the bat might not be needed when the fielding restrictions are on. His primary role will be to take the baton from the top order and negotiate the latter portion of the middle overs and the death overs.
Although Samson has not fared well at No.5 in both T20Is and the IPL in the past, his recent numbers in the latter portion of the innings, where he is expected to feature, if selected, are quite encouraging. He has a strike rate of 159.74 in the middle overs, and the number increases to 196.21 in the death overs. To make the selection process tricky, Pant has a strike rate of 143 in the middle overs, and the number just explodes to 244 when it comes to death overs.
Another major difference between the pair is how they start the innings. The modern-day game does not allow for a lull in momentum for the batting side after the fielding restrictions have been lifted or after the fall of a wicket. From that perspective, Samson is a better fit, as he is a quick operator at the crease. He has an average strike rate of close to 140 off the first 10 balls of an innings, a figure which has been more or less constant through the years.
"20 over ka game hai (it's a 20-over game). Each and every over is five percent of the game. So you just can't say ke bhai mere ko settle hone ke liye time chahiye (I need time to settle down), I will go for sixes after getting to 10 runs, I won't hit this bowler, I will hit towards the end," Samson said in a recent video released by Star Sports, and to his credit, he has been translating the same on the pitch.
He takes on the bowling attack from the word go, irrespective of the situation or the opposition bowling attack. The key being that he plays according to what the situation demands.
Pant, however, has known to take his time initially and explode towards the end after finding the right bowler to target after settling in.
#3 Is Samson's purple patch enough to overrule Pant's X-Factor trait?
At the end of the day, it all comes down to Samson's aforementioned traits against Pant's ability as a match-winner, as well as how attached one is to match-ups. With Ravindra Jadeja's batting quite shaky bordering on being unsuitable in the top seven, Team India will be tempted to have a left-handed batter along with Dube in the middle order.
Samson has arguably been playing in this manner for several years, but the major difference this time around is his consistency. He has not burned bright and flickered like in the past, but has perhaps looked better than from the start for possibly the first time in the IPL.
Despite the numbers and approach being slightly in favor of Samson, those alone will not do the trick, unfortunately. Pant's X-factor and form has already convinced selectors to fast-track him back into the squad, and those elements are still relatively unchanged. There is also the reputation factor, which is a whole other thing (reputation not be mistaken for fan following).
Unless and until Pant's form completely tanks in the coming weeks or during the tournament, Team India are unlikely to deviate from their original plan, which is seemingly to have him as the first-choice wicket-keeper. However, if Samson maintains this run, then it will certainly keep Rishabh Pant on his toes, on thin ice.