File photo of Sanju Samson and Gautam Gambhir© BCCI/Sportzpics
Not yet a certainty in Team India's white-ball teams, but Sanju Samson isn't giving up hopes of making his Test debut for the nation. The wicket-keeper batter, who hit his maiden T20I ton in the match against Bangladesh, has made his dream of representing the country in red-ball cricket public. In fact, Samson has already had a chat with Team India's leadership group - head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma - about his Test ambitions. What's promising is the fact that Rohit and Gambhir, apparently, also see Samson as a player who can do well in Test cricket.
In an interview with Sportstar, Samson expressed how confident he is of succeeding in red-ball cricket, but is still waiting to be given an opportunity by the BCCI selection committee in the format.
"I believe I have the skill set to succeed in red-ball cricket and I just don't want to restrict myself to white-ball cricket. My desire is to play Test cricket for India. Before the Duleep Trophy, the leadership group had told me that they were considering me for red-ball cricket and asked me to take it seriously and play more Ranji Trophy matches," Samson revealed.
The India batter did very well for the team in the recently concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, scoring a hundred in the final match. Samson gave the due credit to skipper Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir for the freedom they gave him.
"Surya is a good communicator and there is clarity in what he wants from the players. He is a good leader and players trust him. Gautam bhai has always supported and backed me. When you have someone as a coach who believes in your ability, playing cricket becomes more enjoyable," said Samson.
"Normally, when you play for India, you are not sure of your role. But this time, I was told three weeks in advance that I would be playing the series against Bangladesh as an opener. I was mentally prepared for the new role," he added.