Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday weighed in on Sanju Samson's exclusion from the Indian team for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa. The Rajasthan Royals skipper was among some prominent names to miss out on selection as the likes of Hardik Pandya and wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik returned to the fray. Speaking ahead of RR's all-important Qualifier 2 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Harbhajan feels that Samson hasn't scored enough runs to cement a place in the Indian team.
"Sanju Samson has a lot of potential, but he hasn't scored as many runs. He has made good 20s and 30s but has then got out due to his carelessness. He has thrown his wicket away too often against both spinners and fast bowlers. Had he converted those 30s into 70s, he might have been in the Indian squad," Harbhajan said during an interaction on Sportskeeda.
Samson last played for India during the T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this year. He had played knocks of 39 and 18 in the two games that he batted in.
In the ongoing IPL 2022 season, Samson has scored 420 runs in 15 matches at an average of 30.07.
He had played a knock of 47 runs against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, but his team ended up on the losing side.
The wicketkeeper-batter will look to make his mark when RR take on RCB in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The winner of this match will take on Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 final on Sunday.
RR had last won the IPL title under the leadership of Shane Warne in 2008.