Sanju Samson has said that the team management has told him to play more Ranji Trophy games as they are considering him for Test cricket. Samson, who played his first international game in 2015, hasn’t been a part of a red-ball team.

In 64 first-class matches, the right-handed batter has amassed 3819 runs at an average of 38.96, including 11 hundreds. He hit a ton in the Duleep Trophy 2024.

Samson has been a consistent performer for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League but has yet to cement his place in the Indian National Cricket Team. The 29-year-old has been in and out of the white-ball teams.

In T20Is, captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir are backing him, and he recently struck a hundred in the third and final T20I against Bangladesh.

Samson now wants to play Test cricket for India and said that the captain and coach had communicated to him before the Duleep Trophy to be a part of more Ranji Trophy matches.

“I have the skills to succeed in red-ball cricket, but I just don’t want to be a part of white-ball teams. I desire to represent India in Test cricket. The leadership group spoke to me before the Duleep Trophy and told me to be ready for Test cricket. They urged me to play more Ranji Trophy games,” Samson said on Sportstar.

Samson had worked with former India head coach Rahul Dravid at RR Academy before the T20I series against Bangladesh.