3 min readMar 10, 2026 12:55 PM IST
Former India captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar applauded Sanju Samson for his batting exploits in the last three matches of the T20 World Cup, saying that his batting was a combination of Viv Richards and Mahela Jayawardene.
The 76-year-old hailed the performance of India’s T20 World Cup winning team, stating that it was a ‘true team performance’, where everyone chipped in at various stages of the tournament.
“Samson provided that in all his three fifty-plus innings in playing classical cricket shots, along with some of the most imperious pulling and hooking seen in recent times. His pulling, off the fierce pace of Jofra Archer, was reminiscent of Viv Richards at his powerful best, though most of his batting is more like the Sri Lankan stylist Mahela Jayawardene,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
“The win was a true team performance. While there will always be a star performer, at various times in the game, someone or the other put their hand up when required,” he added.
The former India opening batter also heaped praise on pace ace Jasprit Bumrah, referring to him as a ‘once in a century bowler’.
“No column, however, can end without mention of Jasprit Bumrah. Samson and many other teammates call him a ‘once-in-a-generation bowler’, but he is more of a ‘once-in-a-century bowler’, without whom it would have been very tough for India. Every time the ball was given to him, he just bamboozled the batters with the many tricks up his sleeve. It was sheer delight to see him create magic and leave even a well-set batter looking clueless,” he said.
Gavaskar has also praised the depth in Indian cricket, referring to how the likes of Test captain Shubman Gill and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal are unable to make it into the T20 team, and why the win at the Under-19 World Cup also bodes well for the future.
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“With players as accomplished as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal unable to find a place in the squad, the depth of talent in Indian cricket is simply mind boggling. The recent win by the boys in the ICC Under-19 World Cup also promises that the talent tap will not run dry for a long time,” he wrote.
