ZIM vs IND: Saba Karim eyes big Zimbabwe series for Sanju Samson, says ‘He should play all T20Is’

Former India cricketer Saba Karim predicts that India’s T20I series against Zimbabwe will be a crucial one for Sanju Samson, in order to cement his place in the side for the foreseeable future. Karim believes that Samson holds the suitable skill-set for featuring in all T20I games for India in the current setup, both as a batter and a wicketkeeper. Although Samson was named in India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad, the 29-year-old did not feature throughout the tournament.

India’s T20I squad has seen a big development since the return of Rishabh Pant into action after his prolonged injury, and that too in considerably good form. However, Samson has also shown some brilliant toughness with the bat and also with the gloves behind the stumps in what was a fruitful Indian Premier League (IPL) as the skipper of RR. There was some increased speculation whether Samson would finally get his long-desired nod into first-team action for India in the T20 World Cup, but captain Rohit Sharma continued his trust on Pant for the tournament.

Speaking in an interaction for Sony Sports, Saba Karim eyed a crucial Zimbabwe series for Samson and predicted that the selectors might try to play him at number 3.

” I reckon so. Because I feel in this series, if he’s available, he should get to play all five T20Is, and that also number three. Because that’s the kind of spot which he prefers and where he has done well. I think it will throw up multiple options for the selectors, going forward, and it will be good to see. These are exciting times for Indian cricket, because now the transition will start from the Zimbabwe Series, and there are a number of newcomers who would want to cement their place in the side, even for the wicket keeper slot. So I know that they have, the selectors, tried out the number three,” Karim said.

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” He has done well in patches. He may get some more opportunities at that number. There is a strong possibility that they may want to bring him back down the order. So there are a number of options available, but I think yes, if Sanju Samson gets get to play five T0Is here, then at least going forward, if he does well, then he’ll get many more opportunities at that number, because he is rich in talent. He’s got loads of experience now. He led the RR side quite well last season in the IPL, so there are some great challenges ahead for Samson,” Karim added.

It is yet to be confirmed when Samson, along with Yashashvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube will be able to join the rest of the India squad for the Zimbabwe series, after their return to the country from Barbados was delayed due to a Hurricane alert. The BCCI has announced three changes in the squad ahead of the series with batter Sai Sudharsan, wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma and fast bowler Harshit Rana added to the team as their replacements.

Watch India Tour of Zimbabwe 5-match T20I series from 6th July 2024, 4:30 PM IST onwards, LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).