Sanju Samson is one of the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the country right now. The Kerala player has been in contention for the national team for some time now. With MS Dhoni coming towards the end of his career, it is expected that his role will be taken up by either Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson.

In a recent interview, Samson talked about the aspect of wicketkeeping and how Dhoni, along with Adam Gilchrist, changed the entire game for a wicketkeeper. The 25-year-old pointed out that wicketkeepers are expected to be good batsmen as well nowadays. This wasn’t the case earlier. Unlike now, wicketkeeping was a skill which a player had to be perfect at and batting was a bonus.

However, when Gilchrist started opening the innings in ODI cricket in the late 90s, things started changing. It was only after Gilchrist that international team started scouting for wicketkeepers who are good batsmen.

Sanju Samson reveals how Dhoni has influenced him

Samson also credited MS Dhoni who doing it by batting in the middle order. “Wicket-keepers today are all top batsmen as well. You look around the world, most of the ‘keepers are very good batsmen. Adam Gilchrist changed the game for ‘keepers coming up the order, MS Dhoni has done likewise in the middle-order,” Samson said during an interview with The Times of India.

The young keeper also reflected upon the batting style of the former Indian captain which has influenced him. He talked about the calmness which Dhoni brings in the game. He also said that he would want to have that skill set.

“MS Dhoni’s calmness and focus in tough situations is something that has influenced me. It is something that I would like to inculcate in my game as well and be calmer and more focussed while batting,” he continued.

Talking about the new restrictions imposed by ICC due to the COVID-19 and how it would affect wicketkeeping, Samson voiced his opinion.

“Maybe it will (become less difficult to keep wickets). It also depends a lot on the conditions we’re playing in. In India, usually, the ball would not move that much anyway. Maybe the impact will be a lot more in foreign conditions where there is a substantial movement for the bowlers,” he concluded.