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'No, my style is to...': Sreesanth reveals Samson's reply to Gavaskar's 'give yourself 10 balls' suggestion

'No, my style is to...': Sreesanth reveals Samson's reply to Gavaskar's 'give yourself 10 balls' suggestion

Sreesanth reveals Samson's reply to Gavaskar's 'give yourself 10 balls' tip (Photo | IPL/BCCI).

Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) had a solid squad for the IPL 2023 edition. Despite a strong start, they lost the way in the second half of the tournament to bow out from the playoffs race. The one-time winners finished second and many believe their poor usage of the Impact Player rule, silly mistakes in crunch situations and below-par returns of two premier batters such as Jos Buttler and skipper Samson led to their elimination.

Samson ended IPL 2023 with 362 runs in 14 matches, at a strike rate of 153.38, including three half-centuries. Over the years, Samson has created a huge fanbase for himself, including several former cricketers. But many believe he often does not do justice to his overall talent and skills. In this year's edition, he struck at a good rate but consistency eluded him once again.

Also Read:Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023: A dismal end to a robust start

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During IPL 2023 league stage, former India pacer S Sreesanth revealed that Little Master Sunil Gavaskar gave a suggestion to Samson, however, the latter followed his own style of batting. Talking to Star Sports, Sreesanth backed Samson but revealed he wasn't pleased with the latter's response to Gavaskar.

"I support Sanju because he played under my captaincy in U-14. In the past 4-5 years, when I see him as a cricketer, I've always told him to perform in first-class cricket, not just IPL. Produce consistent performances. Ishan Kishan, and Rishabh Pant -- both were and still are ahead of him. Pant is not there, but he will make a comeback. I met him recently, he firmly believes he can come back within 6-to-8 months."

“But in this IPL, the way Sanju got out in 2-3 matches straight... Gavaskar sir told him, 'give yourself at least 10 balls. Read the wicket. We know you have a lot of talent, even if you have 0 runs in 12 balls, you can score 50 in 25'. When RR lost in one of their last matches in the league phase, Sanju said, 'no, my style is to play like this only'. I couldn't digest that,” Sreesanth added.

Given Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant injured with the ODI World Cup only few months away, Samson still has a chance to feature in India's ODI squad. However, he will need to be more consistent to be in India's white-ball scheme of things.