India’s wicket-keeper batter and captain of Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson has disclosed that Team India’s leadership group has encouraged him to play more Ranji Trophy matches as they appear to consider him for a probable Test call-up. Though he has been in the white-ball format of international cricket since 2015, Samson hasn’t represented India in the format of Test cricket as yet. In his 64 first-class matches till date, he has scored 3,819 runs with an average of 38.96 this includes 11 centuries. All this has made him a talking point among both fans and selectors, thus boosting the chances of getting into the Test fray.

‘My Desire Is To Play Test Cricket’: Says Sanju Samson

“I believe I have the skillset to succeed in red ball cricket and I just don’t want myself to be restricted to just white ball cricket. My desire is to play Test cricket for India. Before the Duleep Trophy, the leadership group had told me that they were considering me for red ball cricket and asked me to take it seriously and play more Ranji Trophy matches,” Samson said on Sportstar.

Samson has played well in the IPL and still hasn’t really had a significant impact in international cricket. At 29, he has had an oscillating presence in the Indian team and would love to cement a permanent place in the playing XI. For him, the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have come at just the right time to prove he is worth including in the T20I Setup. There was ample evidence that the new coach Gautam Gambhir and the captain Suryakumar Yadav were behind him as he bludgeoned his way to a thrilling hundred off just 40 balls in the third T20I against Bangladesh.

Ranji Trophy: A Way Towards Tests

“My preparation was good this time around. After the series against Sri Lanka I trained at the RR Academy with Rahul Dravid Sir and Zubin Bharucha and worked on my game. The century in the Duleep Trophy has given me a lot of confidence as it came against some of the best bowlers in the country,” he added.

Samson has been clear about his ambition to play Test cricket for India and felt that the leadership group urged him to play more in the Ranji Trophy before participating in the Duleep Trophy. His innings against Bangladesh was important as it eclipsed the often explosive Suryakumar Yadav. He feels he has learned a lot by working under Rahul Dravid, the former head coach of India, at the Rajasthan Royals Academy and century in the Duleep Trophy.