'Lekin vo consistent nahi' - Fans react to RR coach Kumar Sangakkara's 'Sanju Samson always plays for the team' remark

Kumar Sangakkara & Sanju Samson (Source: Twitter)

Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara praised skipper Sanju Samson following their emphatic 32-run victory against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Thursday, April 27. RR defeated CSK for the second time this season and their previous win took the 2008 champions to the top spot in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 points table.

Opting to bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave the hosts a brilliant start to their innings with a brilliant half-century before being dismissed for 77 in the 14th over. Jaiswal and Jos Buttler put on 64 runs in the powerplay to set the stage for the hosts. Captain Samson came in at No 3 after the first wicket of Buttler and showed aggressive intent despite making just a run-a-ball 17.

CSK made a comeback in the middle overs by picking successive wickets, but Dhruv Jurel and Devdutt Padikkal's blistering knocks ensured their side reached a competitive total of 202.

He always plays for the side: Sangakkara on Sanju Samson

After their fifth win of the tournament, Sangakkara praised Samson's intent and selfless play for the team while addressing the team in the dressing room. Even though the 28-year-old failed to score big against CSK, he showed his intent, and his season's strike rate of over 150 proves Sangakkara was correct.

"Skipper, thank you for going in, I think when you watch Sanju bat, one of the things and Jos has made this observation before, is that he always plays for the side. It's not about the but it's about how he scores those. He showed the intent, he led by example. So I thought irrespective of the runs, the tone you set and the example you set is great for the rest of the side to follow," the former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batter said.

Chasing a mammoth total, CSK failed to capitalise on their powerplay as the RR bowlers were excellent in the first six overs. Ruturaj Gaikwad gave a decent start but he did not get support from other batters. Dube scored his third century of the season, but it wasn’t enough to get them over the finish line.

Here's how fans reacted to Sangakkara's statement: 

Sanju bhai consistency caahiye aapse agr Indian team Mein comeback karna haitoh

— ABDULLAH (@Abd_Sunasara) April 28, 2023

151 strike rate after powerplay is finished 💗💗💕💪💪💪💪💪💪💪

— kunal (@kunal0027) April 28, 2023

Indian team mai bhi jab khela to team ke liyeae he khela
Tabhi to ab team mai vapis select hona muskil ho gaya hai 🥹😭.

— Ashish. (@____ashish_m) April 28, 2023

Team player, unlike some statpadders.

— Agile Panther (@AgilePanther11) April 28, 2023

Agreed 💯🙌👏👏

— Mahi Akkineni (@Joshrockzz1) April 28, 2023

but that doesn't give him chance for india... you have to play for yourself at this stage...now after getting chance you can play for team , for our motherland

— Suraj Biswas (@SurajBi74569984) April 28, 2023

Except yesterday.. Didnt see much intent

— Karan Aggarwal (@kay_297) April 28, 2023

Samson 24 avg 151 sr
Hooda 5 avg 80 sr
Kl rahul 37 avg 113 sr
Ishan 26 avg 129 sr
Jitesh 20 avg 149 sr
Shaw 7 avg 116 sr

Samson has better intent than all these guys

— Anurag ™ (@SamsonCentral) April 28, 2023

2 ducks in this season yes he plays for team😂😂😂

— 🐐 (@ItsHitmanERA) April 28, 2023

But plays only in #IPL2023 not for #indiancricketteam, when ever he got chance to play for India Team performance was zero

— Lucky lakshman (@chakri1987) April 28, 2023