IPL 2018: Shane Warne sees bright future for Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant

Rajasthan Royals batsman Sanju Samson has been dubbed as India’s next big superstar by Australia’s all time leading wicket-taker Shane Warne on the back of his stunning form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.

The 23-year-old has scored 379 runs at 34.45 in 12 games for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL this year, and boasts of an impressive strike-rate of 140. The right-handed batsman has also bagged two man of the match awards this term.

“He’s good against pace and spin in all conditions and I think he’s going to be the next superstar of Indian cricket,” Warne, who is serving as a mentor at RR, was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

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“He’s the new rock star, Sanju Samson that’s for sure. He’s an outstanding player and he’s a quality international cricketer.”

Samson’s only appearance for India so far came in 2015 in a T20I against Zimbabwe at Harare but Warne has still backed the rising star to come good alongside Delhi Daredevils’ Rishabh Pant, who is also currently the leading scorer in the IPL 2018.

“India at the moment are blessed with some riches of talent, I think our man Sanju Samson is right up there with (Risabh) Pant,” Warne said. “I think those two guys are probably the two best young Indian batsman I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

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RR have boosted their chances of making the IPL play-offs with three consecutive wins, the most recent coming against Mumbai Indians on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium.

RR take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in their next fixture on Tuesday.