The Ranji Trophy 2024 round four started on Friday, with Kerala taking on Bihar, in Patna. In the early exchanges, the visiting sides struggles were visible as they were reduced to 34/4. What increased their woes was, the absence of premier batsman Sanju Samson, who did not feature in the playing XI, due to personal reasons, as per social media reports.
Team Kerala is yet to win a match this season, and also needed the presence of Sanju in the team, in the all important match. The team has in fact lost two of their encounters, and a loss could well mean, they won’t progress to the next round of the tournment.
As far as Sanju’s batting form is concerned, he has been struggling to get runs. In three matches that he played, he returned with scores of 38, 15, 0, 35. It was just prior to the start of the Ranji Trophy, that he slammed his maiden hundred in international cricket — in an ODI against South Africa, but failed to live up to the expectations in Ranji.