'Starts like a million-dollar baby but goes down rapidly': Samson's form leaves Gambhir frustrated

Sanju Samson started the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 with a breathtaking century against Punjab Kings but the form of Rajasthan Royals captain has since fizzled off completely. With RR struggling to win in the T20 tournament, Samson has looked completely out of form with the bat.

Former Indian cricketer-turned-politician, Gautam Gambhir has expressed his frustration on Samson’s inconsistency as he said that the batsman “starts like a million-dollar baby” but slides down rapidly.

Notably, Gambhir has been one of the biggest admirers of Samson and has publicly backed him to perform well in the biggest of stages. However, Samson’s lack of consistency has left Gambhir irked.

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“Sanju Samson starts like a million-dollar baby, who looks like he’s going to take the IPL on fire by scoring 800-900 runs but then suddenly he starts going down rapidly,” Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.

Samson started IPL 2021 with a 119-run knock against PBKS but has faltered off with 4, 1 and 21 in the tournament.

“He needs to contribute. I’ve spoken earlier as well that the graph can’t be so up and down. There needs to be some balance maintained. You’ve scored a hundred, but you still have to keep contributing. Look at AB de Villiers, look at Virat Kohli. They’ll get a hundred and then they’ll get a 40.

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“If you see Sanju Samson. There is a hundred and then nothing. He’ll probably get another hundred but that is not how quality or world-class players do. I’m not saying he’s gonna get a 100 every second game but you need contributions. He needs to be tighter. I want to see that responsibility taken by him,” Gambhir added.

While Rajasthan Royals missing the likes of Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Liam Livingstone has come as a huge blow to Samson and his team but Gambhir is of the view that it is the perfect opportunity for the Kerala batsman to mature and shine with the willow.

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“In the absence of Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, it’s a golden opportunity for him to get mature. He’s at that stage of his career where it could go either way. He’s not a permanent member of the Indian side. He has been given the responsibility to lead RR so it either matures him or he goes the other way,” Gambhir said.

RR take on KKR at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.