Gautam Gambhir believes Sanju Samson will succeed after the Paarl ton, saying, “He has kickestarted his international career with this knock.”

A possible game-changer for Sanju Samson international career, according to Gautam Gambhir, was Samson’s century in the third one-day international against South Africa. India set a tough 297-run target for the Proteas in the series-deciding match at Paarl thanks to Samson’s outstanding effort, which saw him score 108 runs off 114 balls. After a wobbly beginning at 49/2, he stabilized the batting, establishing a vital 52-run partnership with KL Rahul and then a powerful 116-run partnership with Tilak Varma.

In addition to raising India’s total, this outstanding performance attracted the attention of Gambhir, who feels it may persuade team management to give the wicketkeeper-batter a more regular place in the lineup. Only their second ODI series win in South Africa was achieved by India, who eventually defeated South Africa for 218 runs after being dismissed for 78. Based on Gambhir’s analysis, Samson’s innings demonstrated his ability to lead the innings, which could lead to his being selected more frequently for the national team.

“The talent that Sanju Samson possesses is well known. Everyone has talked about the kind of knocks he has performed in T20 or IPL cricket, not just us. With this knock, I think he’s given his international career a major boost. Before this, Gambhir had only sometimes been given opportunities in one-day international cricket. However, he told Star Sports that after reaching a century, he puts pressure on the selectors to offer him frequent opportunities.

I think it is imperative to continue working with Sanju Samson. Gautam Gambhir

In ODI cricket, the former India opener expressed his desire for the Kerala batter to play for a longer period of time, highlighting his ability as a middle-order wicketkeeper. The elegant right-hander, 29, gave a lot of choices and quality to the game on Thursday. The former cricket player turned broadcaster lauded this and expressed optimism for more of the 29-year-old’s prowess in future games.

“With four years until the next World Cup, it remains to be seen if they will stick with Sanju Samson in ODI cricket. Sanju is an excellent player, though, and I think you should stick with him. You have a great alternative in the middle order with the manner he keeps as well. Sanju provides you with middle-order options in addition to wicketkeeping, but you will always have a strong top order. After this setback, I believe his global career has restarted,” Gambhir said.