New Delhi, Delhi, India
The former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir hailed Sanju Samson, who struck his second Indian Premier League ton against Hyderabad on Friday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, for his brilliant innings.
Though his century went in vain, as Hyderabad chased down a mammoth 199-run target and defeated Rajasthan by five wickets.
Minutes after the match was concluded, Gambhir tweeted, "I normally don't like to talk about individuals in cricket. But seeing his skills I am glad to note that Sanju Samson is currently the best Wicketkeeper batsman in India."
Gambhir also said that Samson should be in India's England bound plane for the upcoming World Cup and he "should be batting number four" in the World Cup.
Samson didn't spare a single Hyderabad's bowler and remained unbeaten on 102 that came off just 55 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes. It was Samson's second IPL ton. His first century came in 2017.
The 24-year-old Samsom, who hails from Trivandrum, Kerala made his Twenty20 International debut for India against Zimbabwe in 2015.
While Gambhir's comments for Samson have upset MS Dhoni's fans as according to the spectators, Dhoni remains the trusted and efficient wicketkeeper for India.
It is believed that he will keep the stumps in the upcoming cricket World Cup in England and Wales for India. .
Here are some Twitter reactions:
I have a lot of respect for Gautam Gambhir and what he did to give India 2 ICC trophies was phenomenal. But to say Samson is the best wk bat in India is completely disrespectful to Dhoni and Karthik. To say that he should be India's no.4 is absurd
â arnab bhattacharya (@Gunnerfourever) March 30, 2019
One good match and samson is the best no 4. Total bullshit. Forget about comparing anyones wicketkeeping skills with MS DHONI. Gambhir is such a big hater of MS. Thank god he is going into politics
â kunalbhuwad (@kunal28081997) March 30, 2019
Gautam gambhir is either too jealous of dhoni or he stopped watching indian cricket the day he was dropped from indian side. India's best wicketkeeper batsman is dhoni and even after him rishabh is there. I don't know how he forgot these two!!
â SAHIL GUPTA (@guptasahil2002) March 30, 2019
Well there is difference between being best wicketkeeper batsman and Dhoni, we will always have best players, best batsman, best bowlers, best wicket keepers... But we cannot always have Dhoni, Sachin, Sourav, Dravid, Laxman, Kumble and even Goutam Gambhir... Legends are Legends
â Anupam (@anupampathak999) March 30, 2019
Gautam Gambhir favoring Sanju Samson as Wicket Keeper for World Cup over Pant and Dhoni, just because he scored a century against a franchise team, is the biggest hypocrisy ever. From stats pov also, Samson is no where in Ranji too whereas Pant and Dhoni are proven performers.
â Ghalibhe Mirza (@PluviophilePoet) March 30, 2019
As of now, Rishabh Pant, who impressed with his batting during India's tour of Australia, is considered as the next replacement of Dhoni.