Tale of a Broken Heart- When Sanju Samson Decided to Quit Cricket

image-lko28arkSanju Samson has impressed in his short ODI career so far (BCCI)

Sanju Samson was called back into the Indian squad for the ongoing white-ball series in West Indies. Amidst much expectations amongst fans of the cricketer, the 28-year-old was excluded from the playing XI in the first ODI as the team management opted Ishan Kishan in the line-up instead.

Samson, who made his international debut back in 2015, has made only sporadic appearances for the national side despite boasting of an impressive List A and T20 record.

Amidst his repeated exclusions from the national side, fans of the cricketer resurfaced an old interview, where he admitted to pondering over leaving the sport altogether.

Samson talks about leaving cricket in old video

Sanju Samson made his international debut in 2015 through a T20I in Zimbabwe as a 20-year-old. However, the cricketer had to wait nearly four-and-a-half years for another appearance in the format for Team India.

As it turned out, the wicketkeeper-batter continues to be overlooked from the playing XI, as he has played only 11 ODIs and 17 T20I matches in his eight-year journey. After he was excluded from the team for the first ODI in West Indies, fans resurfaced one of his old interviews where he can be seen contemplating retirement from the sport at an early age.

While speaking with Gaurav Kapur in a 2022 episode of Breakfast with Champions, Samson said:

“When I made my debut, I was 19 or 20. When I was 25, I got my selection again into the Indian team. Those five years were the most challenging period of my life. I was also dropped from the Kerala team at the time. I began having self-doubts about being good enough to get a callback into the team.”

“When I played domestic cricket during those five years, there came a phase when I kept out for low scores. On one such instance, I came to the dressing room and threw my bat in anger, and left the Brabourne stadium amidst the match. I sat outside for 2-4 hours thinking about leaving cricket altogether, but ultimately I returned to the ground and decided to continue my journey.”

Sanju Samson’s inconsistent journey at the international level side, the cricketer is one of the all-time greats for Rajasthan Royals in IPL. Across 152 IPL games, he has listed nearly 4,000 runs at an average of 29.23. His ability to provide acceleration in the middle-overs with the bat has earned him a fanbase of his own among the league’s rich pantheon of global superstars.