Talking completely to news18.com from Thiruvananthapuram, additionally Samson’s dwelling metropolis, Gomez mentioned: “He is a natural captain. Captaincy is not new to him. It is a natural thing for him. He has had that man-management skills right from his younger days. He is always there to support all the players and gets the best out of them. He leads from the front, like he showed on Monday night. And, all the players love to express themselves whenever he is there, showing them the way.”
Gomez, a former India under-19 batsman and who additionally performed for Kochi Tuskers and Pune Warriors, and was part of the Royals squad in IPL, added: “Samson always maintains his composure even in tense moments. He is very cool. Even when the opponents were scoring very heavily, he did not panic. He was handling the situation very well. After keeping for so long, coming back and chasing that big target showed how much energy he had inside him and the grit.”
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Monday’s efficiency by Samson additionally cleared doubt, if in any respect there was any, about his health. Being on the sphere for 39.3 overs and a brief break for change of innings confirmed he was totally match. Samson was coming off a small niggle that he sustained throughout the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Kerala in February.
Gomez mentioned: “He carried on playing with the niggle for Kerala and scored some crucial runs and his presence was crucial for Kerala qualifying for the knockouts, in particular his 29-ball 61 against Railways. He aggravated his injury and came back home, did rehabilitation and started preparations for the IPL.”
Helping him in his rehab was additionally the Royals’ energy and conditioning coach, AT Rajamani, “who came down to Thiruvananthapuram to work with Samson”, mentioned Gomez.
“When it comes to fitness, Samson leaves no stone unturned. He takes care of his diet, fitness routines. Came back, rehab, started prep for IPL. Another coach, originally from Thiruvananthapuram, G Jayakumar came down from Chennai and we worked rigorously to get Samson ready for the IPL. Kerala Cricket Association and Trivandrum District Cricket Association also provided their facility at the St Xavier’s College stadium premises for Samson. He was so focussed that he used to bat daily for four to five hours besides doing his morning fitness,” the 35-year-old Gomez mentioned.
Samson’s calmness and maturity has come from watching and sharing the dressing rooms with legendary cricketers like Shane Warne and Rahul Dravid, Gomez mentioned.
While Samson has been a constant scorer in IPL and for Kerala, the identical has not continued for the handful of matches he has performed for India within the T20Is.
In the seven T20Is that the 26-year-old Samson performed, the final being in Australia final 12 months finish, Samson has scored solely 83 runs, averaging 11.85, with a top-score of 23 and a strike charge of 118.57.
Gomez defined the doable cause for this drop in efficiency in India colors.
“For India, he mainly batted in the middle overs (opened twice, went at No. 3 once, thrice at No. 4 and at No. 7 on his debut in 2015). The strike rate needed to be high in the middle overs and he wanted to do that. It was like the roles that Glenn Maxwell and Jos Buttler play in the middle/end overs. Or for that matter, the way Deepak Hooda played last night for Punjab Kings. He was trying to play that role for the Indian team.”
Because of the niggle, Samson was not chosen for the T20Is in opposition to England lately in Ahmedabad. Gomez was sure that “it’s just a matter of time when he gets big and consistent scores for India.”
While Samson’s third IPL century on Monday has made many suppose that he should be within the Indian workforce for this 12 months’s ICC T20 World Cup, and he faces lots of competitors, both on the high of the order or within the center. But Gomez, or Samson, will not be actually apprehensive.
“It is his approach and consistency that we have to appreciate. His IPL strike rate in the last two seasons has been around 150. He has been among the Royals’ top-three scorers season after season over the last four years. Match results are decided on the count of sixes these days, and Samson is certainly one of the power hitters who can clear the boundary at ease.”
And, true to Gomez’s phrases, Punjab Kings, with 13 sixes, emerged victors by 4 runs as Royals managed solely 11 hits over the boundary rope.
Samson’s captaincy expertise had been on show on Monday. Gomez seen: “I was excited to see the way he brought and used Ryan Parag. Chris Gayle was on song and Samson brought on Ryan and he took his wicket. Samson plans how to use his bowlers. It was nice to see the field placements, especially when KL Rahul was batting, having a second slip and also the third man. The planning was there. All these things matter in captaincy.”
Gomez mentioned that his presence has impressed others within the workforce, be it Kerala or RR now to raise their performances. Gomez gave the instance of Kerala opener Md Azharuddeen, who performed a blinder of an innings in opposition to Mumbai and helped his workforce chase down 196 goal in simply 15.5 overs within the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on the Wankhede Stadium this January. Azharuddeen’s 54-ball 137 was instrumental in him bagging an IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Like Azharuddeen impressed by Samson, the RR workforce may even have a look at lifting their performances to better roles and on a constant foundation in order to assist the workforce regain the trophy that it gained within the inaugural 12 months 13 years in the past. As for Samson, he’ll have a look at emulating his illustrious predecessors within the Royals camp over time whereas additionally taking a look at regaining his place within the India T20I facet.
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