Former India pacer S Sreesanth lashed out his Kerala junior Sanju Samson for ignoring the legendary Sunil Gavaskar's advice. Sreesanth, who was a member of India's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 ODI World Cup-winning, said that he supports Samson but would have wanted him to listen to someone of the stature of Gavaskar.
Notably, Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) had made a great start to the season but couldn't replicate the performances in the latter half of the league stage and ended fifth on the table. With the bat too Samson did not have as good as a season as the kind of potential that he has shown glimpses of in the past and ended up scoring 362 runs in 14 matches.
With the ODI World Cup later this year and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant still recovering from injuries, there was a chance for Samson to announce himself with a great run this year but the opportunity wasn't utilised fully.
Sreesanth spoke about his former Kerala teammate while discussing cricket on a Television network.
"Gavaskar sir told him, 'Give yourself at least 10 balls. We know you have got a lot of talent, even if you have 0 runs in 12 balls, you can score 50 runs in 25.' When RR lost in one of their last matches in the league stage, Sanju said, 'No, that's my style of play.' I couldn't digest it," Sreesanth said while speaking on Start Sports.
"I support Sanju. 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," he added.