"I believe in higher purpose": Sanju Samson's take on irregular playing opportunities for India

Sanju Samson. Pic/AFP

Team India batsman Sanju Samson opened up on the lack of opportunities he gets in the side. Further, he said that he believes in a higher purpose.

Sanju Samson was also the part of ICC T20 World Cup-winning team. The right-hander has been used as a backup wicketkeeper for most of the time. During the mega event, Sanju Samson did not get to feature in a single match.

Debuting for India in 2014, Sanju Samson has featured in 16 ODIs and has scored 510 runs with an average of 56.66. He also has a century and three half-centuries in the format. In the shortest format of the game, Samson has played 30 matches in which he scored 444 runs with an average of 19.30 including two half-centuries.

Samson has attained a very vocal and loyal fanbase over the years due to his exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) it has often voiced out its displeasure over what it perceives as a lack of opportunities for Sanju in the national team in the presence of more established players like Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.

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Speaking at a press event on Friday of the Kerala Cricket League, Sanju said that he will just go and play when he gets selected. And he is happy with his team doing well no matter how much he plays and it is the higher purpose he believes in. This helps him to be positive.

"I will just go and play whenever they select it. That's it! End of the day, our team is doing well. I am the kind of person who believes in a higher purpose. I just try to take things positively under controllable circumstances and put up the efforts," he said.

The recent appearance of Sanju Samson donning the Indian jersey was during the Sri Lanka series where he scored two ducks. He has been named as the tournament icon for the Kerala Cricket League 2024 T20 tournament, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) announced.

The Kerala Cricket League, in its inaugural edition, will be contested between six teams - Kochi Blue Tigers, Trivandrum Royals, Thrissur Titans, Kollam Sailors, Calicut Globstars and Alleppey Ripples.

The tournament is scheduled to take place from September 2 to September 18 at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. The player auction for the tournament was conducted on Saturday where a total of 168 players registered for the auction, with each team allowed to pick a maximum of 20 players.

MS Akhil emerged as the costliest buy at INR 7.4 lakh. He was picked by the Trivandrum Royals.

(With ANI Inputs)