Kevin Pietersen said that Sanju Samson should board the plane to the West Indies and the United States of America (USA) for the T20 World Cup 2024. Pietersen was impressed after Samson won the Player of the Match award following RR’s 7-wicket win over LSG on Saturday, April 27 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Samson was at his very best as he scored an unbeaten 71 off 33 balls, laced with 7 fours and 4 sixes. On the back of his knock, the Royals chased down a stiff target of 197 with 6 balls left in their innings. Pietersen said that Samson would have been “one of my first picks” for the mega event to be held from June 1 to 29.
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‘No doubt in my mind’
“He has to go. There’s no doubt in my mind that he has to be on that aeroplane to the Caribbean and the USA in a couple of weeks,” Pietersen told Star Sports.
“He is doing a lot with the pressure that he is also under as a captain and not being given higher honours. The way he scores runs and the situation he bats in, if I was the selector, he is one of my first picks,” he added.
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Samson has arguably been the standout batter for the Royals this season and is second in the Orange Cap list. In 9 games, Samson has racked up 385 runs at an average of 77 and a strike-rate of 161.08 with 4 fifties and a top score of 82 not out to his name.
Saturday’s win against LSG have put RR on the cusp of qualifying for the playoffs. The Royals have won 8 out of 9 matches and are sitting pretty on top of the points table with 16 points and a net run rate of +0.694.
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