Birthday special: Sanju Samson – India’s future wicketkeeper-batsman prospect

One of the brightest young stars of the Indian cricket team, Sanju Vishwanath Samson has emerged as a potential replacement of the former Indian captain and wicket-keeper MS Dhoni in the National team. Hailing from Kerala, the wicket-keeper oozes class and maturity. The youngster celebrates his 26th birthday today (November 11, Wednesday).

Sanju is a technically sound batsman and is capable of batting anywhere in the line-up along with being a reliable wicket-keeper. Samson made his first-class debut for the Kerala Ranji team on 3 November 2011 against Vidarbha at the teenage age of 17. He made an impact almost immediately as he scored two hundreds and a fifty in five appearances the next season. The 2013-14 session of Ranji Trophy can be considered as a golden season for the young lad as he emerged as the highest run-getter for his team with 530 runs under his belt in 6 matches (11 innings) at an average of 58.88.

Be clear about what you want to achieve and keep putting in the work until you reach there !!
☺️??? pic.twitter.com/NLBNKPwgYR

— Sanju Samson (@IamSanjuSamson) October 29, 2020

Journey thus far

His heroics in the domestic circuit earned him a place in the IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) and since then there has been no looking back for Samson. Over the years, Sanju has garnered 2584 runs in 107 IPL fixtures at an average of 27.78 and strike-rate of 133.75. He also has two tons and 13 half-centuries to his name.

The youngster was then picked for 2014 Under-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He didn’t disappoint the selectors and was the leading run-scorer for India with three fifties to his name. Though India didn’t qualify for the knockouts, Samson registered himself at the 6th spot in the list of batsmen with most runs.

Samson’s performance attracted a lot of eyeballs and he finally made his first appearance for India in a T20 against Zimbabwe in 2015. However, it didn’t turn out to be a good match for him as scored just 19 runs off 24 deliveries.

After this, Sanju didn’t get any opportunity in India jersey for the next four years owing to the team’s mighty playing XI. Though he was included in the squad as a reserve wicket-keeper, Samson failed to be in the Top 11. The young batsman finally made a comeback in the Indian T20 team during the New Zealand tour earlier this year. He has missed 73 T20Is in his first and second T20I, the biggest gap for any Indian player between two T20I games. Despite getting chances in New Zealand, the right-hander failed to make an impact as he collected just 16 runs in 3 games.

Though the 26-year-old has failed to capitalize on the chances provided to him thus far, he should be given a few more chances to prove his mettle as a wicketkeeper-batsman for the Indian cricket team. The Kerala rookie is one of the better wicket-keeper batsmen in the country at the moment.

Also, he has shown great character and class in the domestic circuit and Indian Premier League and can do wonders for his team if utilized properly. Samson is the youngest batsman to score 1,000 and 2,000 runs in IPL. He also holds the record of smashing the fastest double-hundred in List-A.