India vs West Indies: Ravi Shastri comes up with hilarious reaction after crowd chants Sanju Samson’s name in Thiruvanathapuram - Watch

Head coach Ravi Shastri was at his cheeky best when Thiruvanathapuram crowd started chanting local favourite Sanju Samson’s name before the start of play in second T20I between India and West Indies at Greenfield International Stadium. Samson wasn’t part of the India XI that lost to West Indies by eight wickets on Sunday. Courtesy of this victory, Windies have levelled the series 1-1, forcing the match into the decider.

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Before the start of play, Samson was greeted by chants of ‘Sanju, Sanju’ at the venue. The young wicket-keeper batsman acknowledged the support from the stands and waved towards them. Shastri joined in the fun and playfully tried to hit him, just to rile up Samson’s loyal fanbase.

The duo then broke into laughter and Shastri also hugged Samson afterwards. The entire chain of event was captured by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the video was shared on social media as well. BCCI’s post read: “Cheers from the crowd in Thiruvananthapuram reserved for their very own @IamSanjuSamson.” 

Samson wasn’t initially picked in the 15-member India squad to face Windies. However, the Kerala batsman received a reprieve following Shikhar Dhawan’s injury, which forced the star opener out of the three-match series.

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Speaking after finding a place in India squad as a replacement for Dhawan, Samson stated that while he is open to keeping wickets, consistency isn’t something that he loses sleep over. For the 25-year-old, it is more about playing match-winning knocks and seeing his team finish on top than personal glory.

“I have never thought of that (consistency) as an issue. What I have understood is that I am a bit different type of a player where I just feel that I should go and dominate the bowlers. So, when I have a style and I am looking to dominate the bowlers, it can happen if I go behind consistency, I will lose my style of batting. I don’t want to change my style of playing to bring in consistency,” Samson told IANS.

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Samson is yet to play his part in the series as he has to stay content with warming the bench for the first two T20Is. First-choice wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant continues to keep Samson out of the playing XI.