"I doubt it" - AB de Villiers on any coach playing role in Sanju Samson's resurgence after his ton in IND vs SA 2024 1st T20I
Despite Sanju Samson crediting part of his success as a T20I opener to Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers feels it's otherwise. While De Villiers said he means no disrespect to any of the coaches, the retired South African cricketer reckons Samson has become more mature now.
The Kerala-born cricketer became the first Indian to score back-to-back tons, doing so against South Africa in Durban on Friday, November 8. He had scored his maiden ton against Bangladesh in Hyderabad earlier this year, thereby cementing his status as an opener.
The former Proteas skipper said on his YouTube channel that he hopes to see Samson play all the formats. Nevertheless, he reckons the coaching staff doesn't seem to have a role in his resurgence. De Villiers said:
"Sanju has upped the gear in his game. I hope the selectors are watching this for all the formats. I wan to see this guy play all the formats. I think he is someone who is really really special, someone who can play all the formats, in all conditions around the world. Something has clicked in the Sanju Samson world, whether it's the coaching staff, I doubt it."
"No disrespect to VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel, whoever is a part of the coaching group. I just feel that this guy has reached the maturity point, he has realized something."
Samson was also part of Team India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad but didn't get a game. Before the two T20I hundreds, Samson also had only two fifties since debuting in 2015.
"I haven't often seen him bat at a strike rate of more than 200" - AB de Villiers
De Villiers also recalled how Samson made an impression on him when he scored an IPL century against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He said:
"He scored a 100 once at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against RCB, I was on the park and I realised that day, that this guy is something special and he is proving me right."
"For those of you who have followed Sanju Samson, I haven't often seen him bat at a strike rate of more than 200, he is generally more conservative, he is usually between 140-160 and both these hundreds he has scored back-to-back have been very very fast and especially this last hundred."
India and South Africa will battle it out in the second T20I of the four-match series on Sunday, November 10.