India vs West Indies 2019: Sanju Samson expresses readiness to play as either wicketkeeper or fielder for India

What's the story?

After being named as a replacement for Shikhar Dhawan in the Indian T20I squad, Sanju Samson has said that he is open to the idea of keeping wickets against West Indies. Samson mentioned that he trains as a fielder and also as a wicket-keeper, before suggesting that it is up to the team management to decide his role in the playing XI.

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The background

Samson had made it to the Indian T20I squad for the series against Bangladesh on the back of his consistent performances in the domestic circuit. However, he didn't get a chance to play in the starting XI, and was subsequently dropped from the squad for the West Indies series.

However, an unfortunate injury to Indian opener Dhawan has brought the Kerala-born wicket-keeper back into the reckoning.

Shikhar Dhawan

The heart of the matter

Talking to IANS on Wednesday (27 November), Samson referred to the team's wicket-keeping position and said:

“I have been keeping wickets in white-ball cricket for Kerala for the last five or six years and have also kept in the Ranji Trophy format. I keep that as an open thing. Whatever my team requires, I do it accordingly.

"In the IPL, whenever my team wanted me to keep I did. But they at times felt I could contribute more on the field, so I did that. I prepare for myself both as a keeper and fielder because you never know what the team is looking at.”

Sanju Samson keeping wickets

When further interrogated about his likeliness to don the gloves, the Rajasthan Royals star added:

“I can’t explain every time to everyone what is happening in the team management. I am a keeper and when my team wants me to keep, I do that and when they ask me to field I do that. I can’t tell the team what I want to do right? The team is the priority.”

What's next?

West Indies' T20I series against India will kick off on 6 December. It will be interesting to see if Samson can make it to the playing XI for the first T20I match.