Sanju Samson was drafted into the Rajasthan Royals squad in 2013 at the age of 19. But he then turned to Delhi Daredevils in 2016, only to stay there for two seasons and return back in 2018 to the original home. Now it’s 2021 and that 19-year-old Kerala boy is a full-grown man ready to lead the Royals in his first season as skipper. Jos Buttler the marquee wicket-keeper batsman of the royals believe that Samson is a great story of development for the Royals.
“I think it’s fantastic that Sanju is our captain this year,” Buttler, 30, said in a video uploaded by the Royals on their official Twitter account. “I am obviously excited to play under him. It’s obviously a great story for Sanju to have been with the Royals since he was 17 (actually 19) and now nearly 10 years (nine years) later to be appointed captain for this IPL season is hugely exciting,” he added.
The video was a long one of more than five minutes, basically, a compilation of a Question and Answer (Q/A) session organised by the franchise for its fans to interact with their stars. On being which other trophy he would like to win a game away from cricket, Butter’s answer was an expected one from an Englishman, “The FIFA World Cup.”
The somerset man went on to reveal his love for South Africa left-handed batsman Quinton de Kock, saying, “Quinton de Kock is my current favourite player.” “I just love the free spirit that he plays with. Left-handers always look stylish and better than right-handers,” he further joked, but without compromising on the real praises.
One of the biggest six hitters in the modern era with a prolific bat flow, for Buttler no ground is big enough. Asked about which is the toughest ground to hit a six at, the Englishman chose the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur as his answer. “It is actually our home ground. It is one of the bigger grounds we play in the IPL. So we need to bring in the boundaries when we get back to playing at home,” he said.
Buttler is also excited about seeing Indian all-rounder Shivam Dube as one of the newest entrants in the Royal camp.