Sanju Samson says he is focused on success with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, not his future with the India national team.
The Kerala-born batsman has been arguably the outstanding player in this IPL season so far.
His two quick-fire half-centuries in Sharjah helped lift Rajasthan to the top of the table ahead of their meeting with Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday evening.
Coincidentally, his success has come at grounds where he marked himself out as a potential India star in the making back in 2014.
Back then he was one of the standout players who won the Under 19 Asia Cup, then played in the age-group World Cup in the UAE immediately after.
Samson, though, has been restricted to four T20 international appearances for the full India side in the time since.
He played in their most recent series, in New Zealand at the start of this year, but made just three single figures scores.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Samson said about his prospects of an extended run in the India side.
“The only thing I am sure about is that I am in good form and have been performing well for my team.
“That is what I have been preparing myself for throughout my career. The only dream I have had is to win matches for my team.
“That is what is happening right now. I want to keep my focus here, and focus on the IPL right now.”
The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman says a conversation he had with Virat Kohli while on India duty has altered his outlook on the game.
“A really amazing experience happened when I was in the gym with the Indian team, training with Virat-bhai,” Samson said.
“I asked him about his training regimes, and why he puts so much into his fitness. I kept asking him a lot of questions.
“He asked me: ‘Sanju, how many years are you going to play?’ I said, ‘I think I can play around 10 more years, something like that.’
“He said, ‘After these 10 years, you aren’t going to be able to play cricket anymore, so why don’t you give everything you have for these 10 years?’
“I think that really changed my perspective and my dedication towards cricket. I was already dedicated, but there was something more that I could have given.
“I was really happy to hear that from him.”
Samson has hit 16 sixes in two matches so far in the tournament. He thinks his power-hitting was helped by the time spent isolation in his flat during lockdown.
“I think I understand my game. It is about power hitting when it comes to T20,” Samson said.
“I was lucky enough to have those four or five months where I was working on my strength and my power hitting, doing exercises in my gym.
“That has helped me to hit more sixes this season.”
UK-EU trade at a glance
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Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
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Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Fixtures
Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
