Kochi, March 8 Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has opened up about how he landed a leadership opportunity in 2021 and also shared insights into his journey with the franchise. Under his leadership, the Royals reached the final in the 2022 season where they eventually lost to first-timers Gujarat Titans.
Speaking on Star Sports' ‘Star Nahi Far’ event, Samson said: "I think that happened before this season. I think we were playing in Dubai, and our lead owner, Manoj Badale, came up to me and asked whether I was ready to lead the side. I said I am ready."
Samson has been associated with the Royals since 2013. He was with the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) squad in 2016 and 2017 before moving back to Royals. "So that was it, it was as simple as that, and I felt like I've played enough number of matches and I've spent enough time in this franchise to know that I can do that role, and I was confident that I could do it," he added.
Samson further emphasised his desire to stand out through his batting style and performance. He revealed a shift in mindset towards adopting a more aggressive approach, aiming to unleash power strokes from the outset of his innings.
"I think when you are playing cricket in the world’s best country, which I think is number 1 in the whole world, I think the number of players who play and the number of talent we have, and the level of competition which we have, a guy from Kerala, if he has to come and cement his place in the national side, he has to do something special, so I just always wanted to be special.
"I always wanted to stand out with the way I bat. I just wanted to create my own style of batting and no matter even if it was the first ball, I just wanted to go out there and hit a six. So, that's a shift in the mindset that I had and I just wanted to do something different like why do we have to wait for 10 balls to hit a six?" he said.
The wicketkeeper-batter also stressed how crucial it is to stay hungry and consistently enhance oneself. "If I feel like I do it at the first ball and that was the motive behind the development of my power stroke I was putting lots and lots of effort and time and I think a lot of people helped me, lots of things go behind the scenes which only I only know and my close people know.
"So I'm very happy that things are coming on nice and as you know the grind keeps on going. Actually, I'm never satisfied I want to keep on and go on doing something spectacular for the side I play for," he concluded.
Rajasthan Royals will kickstart their IPL 2024 campaign against Lucknow Super Giants on March 24.
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