After ODI World Cup 2023 in India later this year, the captaincy transition is expected to happen. Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were considered as prominent candidates Board of Control for India (BCCI) were looking to groom as Rohit Sharma’s successor. Recently, Rahul was removed from Test vice-captaincy, Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of most of 2023 due to injuries endured in horrific car accident. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya is leading the T20I squad but his return to Test cricket is uncertain. While Rohit’s successor as captain across formats is open to speculation, former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers has suggested Sanju Samson’s name who isn’t a regular in any format.
“Sanju Samson is an incredible player. He is composed, calm and relaxed kind of guy. Strategically I think he’s pretty sound. I think he can still improve and will still improve over time as he gets more experience and spends more time with someone like Jos Buttler, which is a fantastic asset for him to have in his ear all the time. He’s got so much to learn there,” De Villiers said in a conversation with Jio Cinemas.
“But I think he’s got all the credentials to be a wonderful captain. Who knows, possibly even one day in a year or two or three’s time, in one of the formats in the India team, he could very easily be the captain there, and I think it will do his cricket the world of good. If he can stay as captain for long periods of time, I think he’s going to go places with it."
While Samson led Rajasthan Royals (RR) to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) final since the inaugural edition, he is yet to cement his place in the T20I and ODI squad. Recently, a knee injury also ruled him out of home ODI series against Australia. The Kerala batter has scored 301 runs from 16 innings at an average of 20.06 including one half-century. His ODI numbers are impresive as he has scored 330 runs from 10 innings at an average of 66 including two half-centuries.
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