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Mumbai: Lots of praise is being showered for Indian cricket team's star wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson. Former player Dinesh Karthik has placed him in a different league. Karthik believes that Sanju Samson has now reached the level of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma in terms of popularity among the fans. Karthik said this on Sky Sports before the semi-final match against England in the T20 World Cup.

Dinesh Karthik recited ballads in praise of Sanju Samson…

Dinesh Karthik praised Sanju's excellent performance in the important Super 8 match against West Indies. He said that Sanju's inning of 97* off 50 balls while chasing 196 runs at Eden Gardens was one of the best innings of his career.

Karthik said, "Sanju Samson's story is amazing. People love him a lot. For me, he is the most liked cricketer in India. The love that Kohli, Rohit and Dhoni get, now Sanju also has the same fan following."

Karthik further told that Sanju made his debut for India in 2015 at the age of 20, but he had to struggle for 11 years to play a memorable innings and cement his place. Due to his constant in-and-out of the team, the fans' love for him increased even more. Karthik said that despite the heavy burden of expectations, Sanju has made a great comeback on the basis of his talent.

Sanju was not a part of the playing eleven at the beginning of the tournament. After the failure of the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, the doors opened for Sanju. On this, former England captain Nasir Hussain said that Sanju should have been played from the first match itself. However, he also admitted that it would have been a difficult decision for the team management at that time to shift the in-form Ishan Kishan to number three.

Karthik explained that Sanju was included in the team to address the weakness of the Indian top order against off-spinners and it was a deliberate strategic decision.