Sanju Samson: The Youngster to Watch Out

Sanju Samson’s Biography

Sanju Samson is a fantastic Indian Cricketer who represents the Kerala cricket team in domestic cricket. With his amazing talent, technique and hard work, he became the second-youngest player to score a half-century in the IPL and Champions League Twenty20. At the age of 18 on 29th April 2013 in the match between Rajasthan Royal and Royal Challengers Bangalore, he outshined himself and got the reward. He was adjudged the “Best Young Player of the Season” in the 2013 IPL for his incredible performance. He had to face a lot of struggles in his cricket career initially he was assigned as the Vice-Captain of the Indian Under-19 team for the 2013 Top End Under-19 Series in Australia as a result of his talent and dedication.

Personal Life Details

• Born: 11th November 1994.
• Sanju Samson’s age: 25 years.
• Birth Place: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• Batting Style: Right-Handed Batsmen
• Bowling Style: Right-Arm Medium
• Playing Role: Wicket-Keeper Batsman.
• Net Worth – INR Rs. 43 Crore
• IPL Sanju Samson’s Salary – Rs. 80,000,000/- approximately
• Sanju Samson’s Current Team- Rajasthan Royals (wicket-keeper)

Sanju Samson’s Family and Childhood Details

Sanju's father Vishwanath Samson was formerly a police constable at Delhi Police and was also a football player. Sanju studied at Rosary Senior Secondary School, Delhi and got his high school from St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. After that, he pursued B.A Degree in English Literature from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram. Sanju Samson’s wife Charulatha Remesh was his college-mate and also a long-time girlfriend. They both got married on 22nd December 2018 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Sanju Samson’s IPL Career

Sanju Samson was initially a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012 but never got an opportunity to play. In 2013, Sanju V Samson signed for Rajasthan Royal and made his IPL debut for Rajasthan on 13th April 2013 after the regular wicket-keeper Dishant Yagnik failed to recover from an injury. He was one of the vital cogs of the Rajasthan Royals batting line-up from 2013-2105 and lent stability to the team with his intense gameplay and frequently exhibited his repertoire of sizzling strokeplay. The IPL Franchise Delhi Daredevils(Now known as Delhi Capitals) signed Sanju for a fee of 4.2 Crores in the 2016 auction. Rajasthan Royals then snared him up for Rs.8 Crores in the 2018 IPL auction. He played a mind-blowing innings of 92 runs off just 45 balls playing for Rajasthan Royals against Royal Challengers Bangalore at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 5th of April.  Then on 29th March 2019, Samson hit his second IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 102 not out in just 55 balls. After scoring two more runs in the next match, he became the youngest batsman to score 2000 runs in the history of IPL.

Let’s have look at Sanju Samson’s Stats

Batting Career Summary

Bowling Career Summary

Sanju Samson’s Domestic Career

Sanju Samson made his debut for the Kerala Ranji Trophy team on 3rd November 2011. He was appointed as the captain for the Kerala Ranji Trophy team for the 2015-2016 season, hence becoming one of the youngest captains of a Ranji Trophy side ever. He also became one of the leading run-scorers for Kerala in the 2017–2018 Ranji Trophy, with 627 runs in 7 matches. He was appointed the captain of the Board President's XI replacing the injured Naman Ojha for a two-day tour match against Sri Lanka which was held on 11th November in Kolkata, India. Sanju scored a century against the visiting team of Sri Lanka, and their two-day tour match ended as a draw. The Sri Lankan team had declared at 411 runs with nine down on the board. The Board President's XI was struggling at 31 runs with two down after lunch on the second day when Sanju came in to bat. He gradually built his innings and helped his side to a respectable 287/5. Later on, both the captains agreed on a stalemate after 75 overs. Sanju hit 19 fours and 1 six from 143 balls. The newly-appointed skipper from Kerala displayed great character as he briefly took on the Sri Lankan Test attack. In August 2018, Sanju was one of the eight players who was fined by the Kerala Cricket Association, after showing disagreement against Kerala's captain Sachin Baby. And in November 2018, he was named as one of the eight players to watch out for in the 2018–2019 Ranji Trophy. In the 2019–2020 Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Kerala and Goa, Kerala's Samson scored the fastest double century in List A cricket.

Sanju Samson’s International Career

Sanju Samson was selected to the 17-man team to play against England in 5 ODIs and a Twenty20 on 5th August 2014. He did not make it to the final team for any of the matches but remained as a backup wicketkeeper to MS Dhoni. Sanju was often included in the national cricket team squad but never got to make it to the playing XI, until he made his international debut against Zimbabwe at Harare in 2015. He secured his position in India's Twenty20 International (T20I) team for their series against Bangladesh in October 2019. 

In November 2019, he was again called for the T20I series against West Indies(WI) vs India, after a serious injury to Shikhar Dhawan. He got a very warm welcome in his home town, i.e., Thiruvananthapuram where the second match was played. He played the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka and smashed a massive six on the first ball but unfortunately got out LBW on the 2nd ball. 
Then, Sanju was selected for the T20I leg of  India’s tour of New Zealand and was even a part of the playing 11 as an opener. He couldn't create the desired impact with the bat, but his flying catch made people take note of his fielding skills.