‘I remember when we hit sixes all over the park and chased down 200-plus’: Sanju Samson on friendship with Rishabh Pant

“Whenever people talk to me about my competition with Pant, I like to think about me and him playing together. Not just play, we also have a lot of fun together,” says Sanju Samson.

India wicketkeeper Sanju Samson has insisted that he does not feel any feeling of competition with Rishabh Pant over a spot in the team, and added that the two are really good friends. In 2019, Samson was included in the squad for series against Bangladesh, but he was not given the opportunity to play any match in the series - with Pant being the first choice wicketkeeper in the team.

File image of Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant.(IPL)

Despite not performing to the best of his abilities, Pant was once again picked in the squad for the West Indies series later on, while Samson was dropped completely. An injury to Shikhar Dhawan saw the Kerala batsman making it into the squad, but again was derived of playing opportunity.

The wicketkeeper-batsman finally got a chance to play in the T20I match against Sri Lanka this year in January in Pune, but he could only score 6 runs in the match. Samson also played a couple of T20Is against New Zealand this year in which he registered figures of 2 and 8. Speaking in an interview, Samson says that he enjoys playing alongside Pant.

“I think it all depends on the team combination. I never thought about all these lines (competition with Rishabh Pant). As a cricketer when you’re competing or when you’re trying to get into a sport, if you have an eye on other players - I don’t think that’s the way to play your cricket,” Samson was quoted as saying by Times of India.

“Rishabh and I started playing for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL and we spent a lot of time together. We are really good friends. He is a talented player. We really enjoyed playing together. I’ve played a lot of innings with him.”

Samson further recalled the IPL 2017 encounter against Gujarat Lions in which he scored 61 runs in 31 balls and Pant smashed an unbeaten 97 in 43 balls to help their team chase down 209 in a thriller encounter. “I remember one match we played for Delhi Daredevils against the Gujarat Lions. We hammered sixes all over the park and chased down 200 plus. I still relish that partnership with Pant,” Samson said.

“Whenever people talk to me about my competition with Pant, I like to think about me and him playing together. Not just play, we also have a lot of fun together. I think it will be a really good thing - we are known to dominate bowlers and we have done it in the past as well. So, I always look forward to playing with Pant. I don’t consider myself competing with him,” the Kerala batsman further said.