Sanju Samson was hovering around mediocrity for too long: Former Indian opener

Former Indian opening batter Sadagoppan Ramesh has heaped praise on the Indian opener Sanju Samson, who smashed an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies to propel India to the semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

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Speaking exclusively on his official Instagram handle, Ramesh reckoned that Samson should’ve been on top of the mountain by now but he was hovering around mediocrity for too long in his career due to his previous inconsistent performances.

"It was the first time he (Sanju Samson) played to his full potential and won India a match. A player who should have been on top of the mountain was hovering around mediocrity for too long. He has the ability to reach greater heights from this point, and hopefully, he doesn't miss it. This was the knock of the World Cup. This is what fans have been asking from Sanju for a long time. If he plays to his potential like this, he can singlehandedly win so many matches,” Sadagoppan Ramesh said on his Instagram handle.

Furthermore, Ramesh asserted that the West Indies focussed mainly on the top-order batters Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, adding that the keeper-batter Sanju Samson came out of the syllabus for the opposition.

Moreover, the former Indian cricketer lauded Samson’s calm and composed innings in the 196-run chase as he didn’t play rash and forced aerial shots, but looked for grounded shots for the majority of the chase to stitch a big score and take India home.

"West Indies must have focused mainly on Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. But an out-of-form Sanju came out of focus for them. They made a grave error by not focusing on him. There was a huge change in Sanju's batting last night. Normally, when he smashes a six, he will go for another boundary and lose his wicket in the 20s. But this time he took a single after a big hit and kept planning the chase over by over in search of a big innings,” he added.

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