Mumbai: With the Indian Premier League less than a week away Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara praised RR captain Sanju Samson and even termed him as “one of the best T20 players.”
After making his IPL debut for the franchise in 2018 for INR 8 crore at the IPL mega auction, Samson has been the face of the RR franchise. Samson will lead the Rajasthan Royals for the second season in a row.
Talking about the growth of Samson in the cash-rich League Sangakkara feels the wicketkeeper-batter is an absolute matchwinner for his side. Samson had succeeded Steve Smith as the captain of the franchise in the 2021 edition. Praising the RR star, Sri Lanka’s iconic cricketer Sangakkara claimed that the Indian batter has natural leadership qualities.
“Irrespective of him being the captain or the future of RR, he is one of the best T20 players. He is a magnificent player, destructive, match-winner, has every ability that you want in a batter. He was captain before I took over last season,” Sangakkara said.
“I have come to know him really well and admire him. He’s got such a passion for RR. He started here, he values that. He is a captain who is willing to admit that he doesn’t know everything as yet and he is going to grow into it. He’s got natural leadership qualities. He’s going to get better and better.”
In IPL 2021, Samson scored 484 runs in 14 games at 40.33 and with a strike rate of 136.72 which included a century and two half-centuries. In 2020 season he scored 375 runs at a strike rate of 158.89 with three half-centuries.
“He’s a simple guy, a man of few words, very grounded. He’s absolutely suited for this job and it’s made working with him so much easier and fun. He’s got a sense of humour as well, and it comes out once in a while. He’s got a lot of pride, he wants to win. All I can do is give him the best support to be able to be that leader he knows he can be,” Sangakkara concluded.
 head coach Kumar Sangakkara praised RR captain Sanju Samson and even termed him as "one of the best T20 players."){kind=link}