Home SportsCricket Gautam Gambhir Questions Appointment Of Sanju Samson As Skipper

Gautam Gambhir Questions Appointment Of Sanju Samson As Skipper

Sanju Samson

Gautam Gambhir, former opener and winning skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL has questioned Rajasthan Royals’ decision to promote Sanju Samson as the captain of the 2008 champions ahead of Indian Premier League (IPL) season 14.

Rajasthan Royals failed to make it to the playoff stage of the IPL 2020 and the Steve Smith-led side also finished rock-bottom on the points table. Following Rajasthan Royals’ disastrous season in the cash-rich league, star batsman Steve Smith was not retained by the one-time champions on Wednesday ahead of IPL 2021.

Steven Smith
Steven Smith (Image Credit: Twitter)

Gautam Gambhir: It’s A Bit Early To Assign Captaincy To Sanju Samson

Gautam Gambhir, who plied his trade with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) during his iconic IPL career has opined that Rajasthan Royals should have named England batsman Jos Buttler as the successor of Steve Smith.

Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir. Image Credit: Getty Images.

“According to me, it’s a bit early to give the captaincy to Sanju Samson. I would have appointed Jos Buttler as Rajasthan Royals captain. He is one player who will play in all 14 matches. Samson has recently played for India. He would be under pressure to cement his place in the side,” Gambhir told Star Sports.

Regarded as one of the finest batsmen across all formats of the game, Steve Smith failed to inspire his side to the playoffs last season which triggered his shocking departure from the Rajasthan-based franchise in the build-up to the upcoming mini-auction for the IPL 2021. Steve Smith scored 311 runs in 14 games averaging only 25.91.

Gautam Gambhir Should Have Appointed Jos Buttler For 1 Year Instead

The two-time IPL winner with KKR in 2012 and 2014 feels that Sanju Samson’s appointment as the franchise’s new captain can backfire on the Rajasthan Royals, who last made it to the playoffs when Ajinkya Rahane was at the helm in the 2018 season.

“It remains to be seen whether the move will work like it did for Rohit Sharma for Mumbai Indians. It might backfire as well as the responsibility might curb his natural instinct. I would have appointed Buttler as Royals captain for one year and then handed it over to Samson,” Gambhir added. 

Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler Photo Credit: IPL.

Rajasthan Royals who won the inaugural IPL in 2008 failed to replicate the success reaching the playoffs in 2013, 2015 and 2018 and never made it to final again. They had likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Jofra Archer and Jaydev Unadkat but finished last in extremely competitive IPL 2020. They won only 6 of 14 games.

This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: sportzwiki.com

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