With there being a lot of questions over Sanju Samson's inclusion in India's squad for Asia Cup, the 30-year-old has sent a strong message to the BCCI with a valiant knock. He played a fiery inning of 54 runs from just 36 deliveries in an exhibition match for the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) Secretary's XI against the KCA President's XI. The match took place on August 15 in order to inaugurate the floodlights system at Greenfield Stadium in Trivandrum.
Notably, Samson was the captain of his team while Sachin Baby was the skipper of the opposition. The KCA Secretary's XI were set a target of 185 runs. Samson came out to bat at the number four spot and played some exquisite shots. He also got a lot of support from Vishnu Vinod from the other end, who played a stunning knock of 69 runs from just 29 deliveries. The 30-year-old was eventually dismissed after playing a fluent knock of 54 as his side went on to defeat the President's XI by just one wicket with two deliveries left to spare.
Samson's knock included two boundaries and three maximums, playing a key role in his side's victory. It was quite a thrilling clash where both the teams gave it their all and took the game down to the wire.
Brilliance in the field
However, Samson didn't only contribute well with the bat, but also did well in the field by takking a stunning one-handed catch in the slip cordon. This catch sent opposing captain Sachin Baby back to the pavilion for a three-ball duck.
Though this performance from Samson may not be given a lot of importance by the selectors since it came in an exhibition match, it should help the 30-year-old in gaining a lot of confidence after he had spent the majority of last year on the bench due to injuries. With the Asia Cup set to commence from September 9 and India's squad for the tournament to be announced soon, it remains to be seen if Samson will be picked or not.