Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers says he is proud of India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who is excelling in his new role as opener in the national T20I set-up. De Villiers revealed he and Samson have been in touch for a while, and suggested that something has changed in the latter’s game. The former Proteas captain’s remark came after Samson smashed a century in the first T20I against South Africa on Friday, his second triple-figure score in as many games in the format. 

“Sanju Samson, who scored a massive 100. Back-to-back T20 hundreds, absolutely incredible. Am incredibly proud of the guy, I say proud because I do have a personal connection with him. We have been in touch for a number of years now. I have always been a big fan of Sanju Samson, I just love the way he plays, and I always want him to do well,” de Villiers claimed in a video on his YouTube channel.

Striking at 214, Samson hit a 50-ball 107 with the help of 10 sixes and 7 fours in the series opener at Kingsmead, Durban. Having closely observed his game, de Villiers claimed Samson has discovered “another gear” in his game.

“He scored a 100 once at the Chinnaswamy Stadium against RCB, I was on the park and I realised that day, that this guy is something special and he is proving me right. For those of you who have followed Sanju Samson, I haven’t often seen him bat at a strike rate of more than 200, he is generally more conservative, he is usually between 140-160 and both these hundreds he has scored back-to-back have been very very fast and especially this last hundred,” he added.

However, de Villiers doesn’t feel that the current Indian team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, has had any influence in Samson’s redemption. In fact, de Villiers feels that Samson has reached a point in his career where he can only improve and take his batting to another level

“Something has triggered there, something has clicked in his game which is absolutely great to watch. The thing about him is that he makes it effortless out there. I don’t see much experimentation going out there. Not a lot of creativity in terms of funny shots, doesn’t seem that he wants to entertain the crowd and please someone, he just sticks in his little bubble and he just is easy on the eye,” said de Villiers.

“Sanju has upped the gear in his game. I hope the selectors are watching this for all the formats. I wan to see this guy play all the formats. I think he is someone who is really really special, someone who can play all the formats, in all conditions around the world. Something has clicked in the Sanju Samson world, whether it’s the coaching staff, I doubt it. No disrespect to VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir, Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel, whoever is a part of the coaching group. I just feel that this guy has reached the maturity point, he has realised something. It is exciting to all of us Samson fans. I think there is another gear, a sixth gear, I want to see it unfold,” he added.