Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia can perform well at international stage: Kumar Sangakkara

|| India Correspondent ||

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Rajasthan Royals' Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara has applauded their captain Sanju Samson and all-rounder Rahul Tewatia, saying that they both can perform well on the big stage as they have great talent.

Rajasthan Royals will start their Indian Premier League 2021 campaign against Punjab Kings on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Earlier this year, they let go of Steve Smith, their earlier captain and appointed Sanju Samson as the captain of the side with Sangakkara been appointed as Director of Cricket.

"The pressure is always there, you can try and forget about it. But the reality is I think Sanju and all the players will always tell you that the expectation and pressure are always there. There are various coping mechanisms and little techniques you used to deal with them to let you focus at the moment. It is really important to have that grand ambition of playing regular international cricket," Sangakkara said during a virtual press conference on Sunday.

"Both Sanju and Rahul are capable of not just being regulars, but great and outstanding performers on the international stage. They have an amazing ability, great cricketing sense, and both of them over the years have really progressed. Sanju has been a young batting superstar in the Indian scene for a long time, but the real key is to understand that there is a process to achieve that ambition and to take it to match by match. Each innings you play in the IPL, the focus should be on that. It is important that both Samson and Rahul have the trust of the team," he further added.

"We have a lot of match-winners, not just English specific. With Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia, and our fast bowlers, and the key is to have different players who can do something special on the day. If it's a different player each time, then that's even better. Everyone is looking forward to starting the tournament. Earlier this year, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) management confirmed that pacer Jofra Archer would be missing the initial part of IPL 2021 due to an injury. The pacer recently underwent surgery and is currently going through his rehab," Sangakkara concluded.