Hailing from Kerala, Sanju Samson is one of the most promising cricketers in the Indian cricketing circles and is currently the captain of Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. Samson was primed for greatness from an early age. Right from his teens, he was expected to be the flag-bearer of cricket in Kerala.
Samson was first called into the Kerala Ranji Trophy side as a 15-year-old and made his debut in November 2011 against Vidarbha. He soon caught the eye of the national selectors as well and was appointed vice-captain of the India U19 World Cup side in 2014. Samson finished as the top run-getter for India in the tournament and was the only player on the side to hit three half-centuries.
Samson was Kerala’s highest run-scorer in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season and was appointed captain of the stateside for the 2015-16 season. Samson was first called into the national side for the five-match ODI series against England in August 2014. He did not play a single match though and was kept as a backup to MS Dhoni. Samson finally made his international debut against Zimbabwe in July 2015.
Samson has been called into the national side several times since but has never made quite a splash on the international circuit. The wicket-keeper batsman has a fearless approach while batting, but that is often fraught with risk, and Samson has been burnt more than once. However, Samson has started to show consistency in recent times. In October 2019, Samson smashed his maiden double-century in List A cricket scoring 212 off 129 balls. This was the second-fastest century in all 50-over cricket.
So far in his brief international career, Samson has played 7 T20Is but is yet to make a noteworthy contribution. The 26-year-old though has been prolific for Kerala in domestic cricket. Similarly, Samson has been a star in the IPL too.
He was picked by Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2012 IPL season but was not given a game. Only when the dashing wicket-keeper batsman moved to Rajasthan Royals, more opportunities came his way. Rahul Dravid has often spoken highly of Samson and took him under his wings even at Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2016. Samson has been pretty regular in the IPL since 2013. He won the Emerging Player award during the 2013 season with 206 runs in 11 innings, averaging 25+. His best season in the IPL was in 2018, where he scored 441 runs in 15 innings averaging a strong 31.5, which included three half-centuries. Samson had a fruitful 2020 season as well and was named captain of the Rajasthan side in 2021.
Samson has so far played 108 IPL games in which he has scored 2703 runs at an average of 28.76. This includes 13 half-centuries and three centuries.
Sanju Samson Biography
| Full Name | Sanju Viswanath Samson |
| Born | November 11, 1994 |
| Birth Place | Trivandrum, India |
| Height | 5’7” |
| Role | Wicket Keeper & Batsman |
| Batting Style | Right Handed |
| Bowling Style | – |
| First Class Debut | 2010 |
| ODI Debut | – |
| T20I Debut | Vs Zimbabwe, July 2015 |
| IPL Debut | Vs Punjab, April 2013 |
| Test Debut | – |
Batting Stats & Records
| Format | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50s | 100s | 4s | 6s |
| IPL | 108 | 2703 | 119 | 28.76 | 135.49 | 13 | 3 | 203 | 122 |
| T20Is | 7 | 83 | 23 | 11.86 | 118.57 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
Recent Matches
| Team | Opposition | Date | Bat |
| Royals | Punjab Kings | 12 Apr, 2021 | 119 |
| Kerala | Bihar | 28 Feb, 2021 | 24* |
| Kerala | Karnataka | 26 Feb, 2021 | 3 |
| Kerala | Railways | 24 Feb, 2021 | 61 |
| Kerala | U. Pradesh | 22 Feb, 2021 | 29 |
| Kerala | Odisha | 20 Feb, 2021 | 4 |
| Kerala | Haryana | 19 Jan, 2021 | 51 |
| Kerala | Andhra | 17 Jan, 2021 | 7 |
| Kerala | Delhi | 15 Jan, 2021 | 16 |
| Kerala | Mumbai | 13 Jan, 2021 | 22 |
Interesting Facts About Sanju Samson
- Sanju Samson finished the 2014 U19 World Cup as the top run-getter for India.
- During the 2019-20 season, Samson became the first wicket-keeper batsman to score a double hundred in List A cricket.
- Samson’s double-century is the second-fastest in all List A cricket, only behind Travis Head.
- Samson holds the record of being the second-youngest batsman to score a half-century in IPL.
- Samson was named the Emerging Player of the IPL in 2013.
- Samson is the youngest batsman to cross the 1000 and 2000-run milestone in IPL.
- Samson’s partnership with Sachin Baby (338 runs) against Goa is the highest partnership for any wicket in List-A and ODIs in India.
How Sanju Samson’s stats will help you in Fantasy Cricket?
Sanju Samson is the captain of Rajasthan Royals, so he will certainly play every match this season. Samson is one of the key members of the Rajasthan team. He has often been guilty of throwing his wicket away after a start, but of late, Samson has shown consistency. Samson had an excellent season in 2020 and has started brilliantly in 2021. Also, he keeps wickets, which means extra points behind the stumps too. For more such interesting news and records, visit the blog section on MPL.
Indian T20 Premier League Teams
