IPL 2023: Sanju Samson has to play for India, says Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed Sanju Samson to play for the national team after his match-winning knock against defending champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Samson scored a fine knock of 60 runs from 32 balls and helped his team chase down 178 runs against the Hardik Pandya-led team. The flamboyant scored three fours and six sixes in his blistering knock. In fact, Samson smashed GT’s lead spinner Rashid Khan for a hat-trick of sixes to turn the match on its head.

RR was behind the eight-ball at the halfway stage as they were in a quagmire at 55-4 after 10.3 overs. However, Samson kept his team in the contest with his brilliant knock before Shimron Hetmyer added the finishing touches with an unbeaten 56 runs from 26 balls.

In fact, Samson has been playing consistently in the IPL and there is no doubt he should receive his chances for the Men in Blue. However, the stylish batter from Kerala hasn’t received a long run in the national team. The 28-year-old from Trivandrum has scored 3683 runs in 143 IPL matches so far.

Samson has played 17 T20I matches in which he has scored only 301 runs for the Indian team.

“Huge, a captain’s knock. Such players have more courage than other players. He is a special player. He had an even bigger impact than Hetmyer because he made the game and Shimron Hetmyer finished it,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports after the game.

“If you have confidence in your ability, you can take the match deep. MS Dhoni used to take the game deep because he didn’t have any doubt over his ability. He knew that if he stays till the end, he will finish the match,” Harbhajan compared Samson to MS Dhoni.

The Turbanator also showered praise on Shimron Hetmyer, who added the finishing touches and stayed unbeaten till the end to get his team home.

“Hetmyer also did that. He stayed till the end and finished the match but who took the match till the end – Sanju Samson. This player has so much ability, he should play for India,” Harbhajan lauded the duo.

Rajasthan Royals will next face Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur on Wednesday.