IPL 2020: ‘Doesn’t need to be the next anyone’ - Gautam Gambhir responds after Shashi Tharoor calls Sanju Samson the next MS Dhoni
IPL 2020: Gautam Gambhir didn’t quite like Shashi Tharoor drawing parallels between Sanju Samson and MS Dhoni.
Sanju Samson played a scintillating knock that cruised Rajasthan Royals (RR) to victory against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday evening at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Samson’s 42-ball 85 amplified Rajasthan’s run-chase against a stiff 224-run target, given by KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. His efforts were loud enough to justify why he deserves a permanent spot in the Indian cricket room.
With Samson’s stunning knock, followed by Rahul Tewatia’s dynamic cameo, RR registered the highest-ever run-chase in the history of Indian Premier League. These heroics garnered praises on social media from all across the globe.
Also Read | Rahul Tewatia, Sanju Samson star as Rajasthan Royals register highest-successful chase in history
Veteran politician and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to twitter to applaud Samson’s contribution to last night’s victory. Tharoor has been a vocal supporter of the Kerala cricketer and this time called him the ‘next MS Dhoni’.
“What an absolutely incredible win for @rajasthanroyals ! I’ve known @iamSanjuSamson for a decade & told him when he was 14 that he would one day be the next MS Dhoni. Well, that day is here. After his two amazing innings in this IPL you know a world class player has arrived,” Tharoor tweeted.
The tweet echoed the sentiments of numerous cricket fans. However, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir didn’t quite like Tharoor drawing parallels between Samson and the former Indian captain. In response to Tharoor’ tweet, Gambhir wrote, “Sanju Samson doesn’t need to be next anyone. He will be ‘the’ Sanju Samson of Indian Cricket.”
Gambhir is one of those personalities from the cricket fraternity who has backed Samson every step of the way. When Rajasthan began their season by defeating Chennai Super Kings by 14 runs, Samson was the batting mainstay. He slammed 74 runs off 32 balls, with nine sixes, and helped power his team to put a mammoth total of 216/7 on board.
Following his innings, Gambhir heaped praises on Sanju, terming him the ‘best young batsman in India’ and expressed his surprised as the Kerala player not finding a permanent part of the Indian team.