Sanju Viswanath Samson is one of the brightest shining star on the Indian cricketing horizon. The wicket-keeper batsman oozes class and maturity when he takes the guard in the middle. Though some tough competition in the Indian side has eluded him the long run he deserves, Samson , without an iota of doubt is the most complete wicket-keeper batsman in the circuit.
Sanju began his career by training in Delhi where his father was stationed as a Police Constable, however, he soon moved to Thiruvananthpuram and started making waves with his compact yet nonchalant game. His impressive technique combined with an ability to time the ball first earned him a place in Kerala's U-19 team and a consistent outing in the Cooch Behar Trophy (domestic U-19 championship) elevated him into India's team for the U-19 Asia Cup in 2012.
Sanju 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 Ranji Trophy 2013-14 was the breakthrough season for Samson as he truly came to the party. In the first match, the north-eastern side of Assam had put a challenging total of 323 runs in the first inning. However, Sanju Samson eclipsed Assam's inning by scoring a career-best 211 to give Kerala a vital 39-run lead. He hit 23 fours and 5 sixes to bring up his first double century in Ranji Trophy.
He was the highest scorer of Ranji Trophy 2013-14 after the second round of matches with 377 runs off 2 matches at an average of 188.5. In all, he played six matches (11 innings) and ended up as Kerala's highest run-getter, scoring 530 runs at an average of 58.88.
Samson's highest point in the domestic circuit came in the 2019-20 season when during the Vijay Hazare match against Goa, he smashed an unbeaten double-century. The Kerala wicket-keeper batsman made his way into the record books by smashing an unbeaten 212 off just 129 balls to register the highest individual score in List A cricket by a wicket-keeper batsman. Samson got past Pakistan’s Abid Ali’s record who had scored an unbeaten 208 in Pakistan’s domestic one-day competition in 2018.
After an impressive Ranji Trophy debut season, Sanju Samson attracted a lot of eyeballs and was scalped by Kolkata Knight Riders. However, he didn't get a chance to play for them and ultimately went to Rajasthan Royals in 2013 where he bloomed to his potential.
For three years Sanju became an integral part of Rajasthan Royals' batting line up.When Rahul Dravid was mentoring the Royals in IPL-7, he spoke highly of Samson and added that he is one of the players in the current lot, who will excel for India in the near future.
As a result the Rajasthan Royals retained Sanju for the 2015 IPL season. Rajasthan Royals performed well in the league making it to the knockout matches but Sanju Samson couldn't bring justice to his cause as he recorded only one 50 plus scores in the 15 matches he played.
However in 2016, when RR was axed from the IPL, Samson was bought by Delhi Daredevils and he didn't disappoint his new franchise as in 2017 he ended as Delhi's third highest run getter.
Sanju scored his maiden T20 century in IPL 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiant on 11 Apr 2017 at Maharastra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune. WHen Rajasthan came back in the IPL fold in January 2018, he was instantly bought by the franchise for Rs. 8 Crores in the IPL auction. On 29 March 2019, Sanju Samson scored his second IPL century against Sunrisers Hyderabad hitting 102 not out off just 55 balls which included 10 fours and 4 sixes
Before making his debut Sanju was selected in the 17-man squad to play against England in 5 ODIs and a T20 in 2014, however, he didn't got a chance to start in the Playing XI.
Sanju Samson continued making big runs and consistent performances in the IPL and Ranji Trophy meant that the Kerala lad was picked for the Zimbabwe tour in 2015. He made his first appearance for India in a T20 game. However, it didn't turn out be a good match for him as he only managed to score 19 runs off 24 deliveries, and since then he has never played for India again.
He was selected for the T20I series of the India tour of New Zealand in 2020 and was part of the playing eleven as an opener. Though he couldn't create the desired impact with the bat, he had finally made a spot in the team after 4 years in the wilderness.
Sanju Samson was born on 11 November 1994 to Lily and Samson. His father was a Police Constable in Delhi Police. Samson is a devout Catholic and he married his college-mate and longtime girlfriend Charulatha Remesh in Thiruvananthapuram on 22 December 2018.
