INTERVIEW
Follow UsWhen Sanju Samson trudged with his heavy cricketing kit across the Medical College Ground in Thiruvananthapuram, the stars aligned auspiciously. At that point, Samson was coming off a rejection after failing to impress the selectors at the age-group level in Delhi.
It was almost like he was rewriting his entire cricketing journey, but he wasn’t alone. Sanju had his brother, Saly Samson, who is quite a talented cricketer, alongside him. Together, they had trudged through Biju George’s closely monitored open training ground.
Little did an 11-year-old Sanju know that his career would open up a new page.
Sudhir Aly, who now works as a statistician with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), had already notified George of the budding talents. And it took just one training session to convince him of Sanju’s talent.
At that point, life wasn’t too rosy for the talented youngster either, who had to travel daily close to 30 km up and down from his home in Vizhinjam to train.
It didn’t matter if it was sunny, rainy or cold. Sanju was always there outside the small changing room at the medical college, waiting to train after returning from his school, St Joseph. But one particular innings, when Sanju was in sixth grade, convinced Biju of the former’s talent.
“Every kid has something special in him,” Sanju’s childhood coach, Biju George, told Cricket.com in an exclusive chat.
“One particular innings that Sanju played when he was in the sixth or seventh grade [representing St Joseph school], he used to bat with a brand called USA or something. It was just a piece of wood.
“It was raining heavily, and it was on a matting wicket. It was so slippery that you couldn’t walk. They didn’t have a choice but to play there. On that slippery wicket, where there was no proper footing, he was timing the ball out of the ground with ease. He hit sixes for fun that day,” he narrated.
In Hebrew, Samson is a man of extraordinary physical strength. The first word you associate with someone hitting sixes for fun is brute force. But Sanju’s game was never about brute strength; it was always about pure timing, the work of art, something Biju noted early. 
“That’s the day I realised that there was something special about this kid. You can’t say power; it is timing,” George said.
“He has an innate sense of timing. He doesn’t try to muscle the ball. You will hit wide mid-wicket or country areas if you try to muscle the ball. But if you look at Sanju’s hitting zones, 90% of them will be down the ground or extra cover. So, he times the ball so well.”
Under his tutelage, Sanju just started spreading his wings slowly. But things were quite different on his debut when the right-handed batter got out cheaply. What led to his undoing? A slog sweep that left both the coach and the association unhappy, and what was Samson’s response?
“I worked with him for nearly 15 years until I moved to the Indian women’s team in 2017. I still remember a conversation when he made his Ranji Trophy debut. I was an assistant coach at that time. It was one of the worst wickets that we played on,” he recalled.
“He played a slog sweep against a left-arm spinner [eg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule] and got out for very few runs [3]. So, the association guys were furious with me for giving him chances and backing him and on him for playing such rash shots.
“We called him, and there was a semi-court marshall-type incident; I asked him, ‘Sanju, if the same ball comes again, what will you do?’ He said, ‘I will play the same shot again.’
That day, it was evident that Samson embodied an aggressive brand of cricket, which later became his trademark.
“There are two kinds of players in the world. These players are impact players who know when to seize the moment. Sanju is one of them. He’s there to create an impact. He’s not going to stay there and make a run-a-ball hundred. He will score a 40-ball 60 and be happy for his team,” George said about his pupil.
****
On April 10, 2024 (Wednesday), Sanju completed a rare feat, becoming only the second player since IPL’s inception to captain in 50 games for Rajasthan Royals. Not only was he following the footsteps of their legendary captain and cult hero, Shane Warne, but he was treading on a path that Warne would be mighty proud of.
At that point in the season, the Royals were unbeaten in the competition, with four wins out of four games, showing great leadership in the Royals’ pink. But leadership wasn’t new; Sanju’s first experience as a captain came all the way back in 2007 when he led Kerala’s U-13 side in KSCA (Karnataka State Cricket Association)’s Under-13 tournament.
In that tournament, a young Sanju had smashed records, bagging the Player of the Tournament award, scoring 973 runs, with four centuries in five clashes, averaging a staggering 108.11. All of this while still leading the team strongly.
“Captaincy has come naturally to him. Ever since he played U-13 [KSCA Inter-State], he has led the side for Kerala. He’s a natural leader with a calm, cool assurance about him. He gives his teammates confidence, and the main thing is that he knows the swing moment - he reads the games very well. He’s always been a very good leader, there’s nothing new about that,” George revealed.
Since then, however, the Royals have had a slightly dodgy end to their season, with consecutive defeats tormenting their good start. While captains tend to be quite reactive in such a circumstance, Sanju has a calm demeanour and a much more circumspect approach to leadership duties.
“He prepares for the next game [when asked how Sanju reacts to losses]. Even when his side used to lose at a young age, he isn’t too fazed about the situation. He just sees what to do better next time. He’s very level-headed. He has a calm sense of assurance, and he reads the game well,” George added.
It isn’t just his leadership that has caught the attention of the nation but his consistency. Consistency and Sanju are two terms that haven’t ever gone hand-in-hand. But this IPL, Sanju has put an end to all the doubts over his ability to rake up runs consistently, amassing 531 runs, the most he has ever scored in a single edition.
“This year, we are seeing a new mature self of Sanju, who has an aura around him. He’s very calm, rooted, and grounded,” George noted.
Earlier in the season, on May 7 (Tuesday), George was yet again in the opposition shed, trimming his nails quite closely watching Samson’s carnage. Every question that his side, Delhi Capitals, posed was met with a disdainful approach from Sanju.
He wasn’t in a mood to calm down either. It took the Capitals 16 overs to see the back of Sanju that night, and George reckoned that it was something that he’s now becoming very used to, watching his pupil tee off against his own team.
“I have been on the opposite side several times against Samson: with SRH, I was against him; with KKR, I was against him; with DC, now I’m against him. It has been a usual situation for me,” he added.
Where has Sanju worked that has improved his game massively?
“Rather than the game, it is the holistic development. He’s calmed down a lot in his life. They [Rajasthan Royals] have a very good batting side. He knows players can hit the ball after him, even if he takes time. He’s good enough to know that he will get the runs if he stays there,” he insisted.
“Only his mindset has changed; I still believe that he was his flamboyant self as a 19-year-old,” he maintained.
****
On April 30 (Tuesday), the BCCI announced the 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States of America.
Until then, there was a huge debate about who would be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the event. In the past two global events, India have shown considerable trust in Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul to get the job done.
But this year, Sanju’s form was such that the selectors could not ignore his display. So, if the Kerala-born wicketkeeper batter is indeed picked in the XI, how can India get the best out of him?
“India can use him as a batter alone, even if they don’t want him to keep. He can fit in any slot. It is up to the team management to fit him. If I was there, I would use him at No.3, Suryakumar at No.4 and Rishabh Pant at No.5,” George noted.
Throughout this process, what was more astonishing was the fact that the entire country had provided the 29-year-old with so much unadulterated love. When posed this question, George insisted that the sense of ‘relatability’ makes the Kerala cricketer so loved. 
“Because he’s the ultimate boy figure. All the people relate to him as their son; some see him as a brother, someone as an idol. If he can do it, I can do it. Nothing flashy, very down-to-earth. If you look at his choice of clothes too, nothing flashy, very simple. There is a sense of relatability for people,” George showered his praise on Sanju, whose stocks have continually grown.
One thing that the 58-year-old was in absolute awe of was how the 29-year-old always gave back to society, from where he found a lot of success. Whenever the Royals captain returns to the state, he is often seen conversing with youngsters, motivating them in one way or another.
“Kerala cricket, now you see a lot of youngsters who have taken up cricket. If you see the white-ball formats, the game has gone up. People know that if you come to (Medical College Ground) and do your best, there is a good chance that you, too, can make it,” he concluded.
All it took was one special knock on a matting wicket, and the rest is history for Sanju Samson.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
