Sanju Samson Career
Sanju Samson in action for India in December 2023 (AP)
Sanju Samson, marked by his enigmatic batting expertise and dynamic flair, especially in white-ball cricket, navigates a career brimming with potential and occasional flashes of brilliance.
Despite emerging as one of the batting stalwarts of Rajasthan Royals and Kerala in BCCI’s domestic competitions, the cricketer, however, has been only making sporadic appearances for the Indian national team since his debut in 2015 until late 2023.
Sanju Samson Early Life and Entry into Professional Cricket
Sanju Samson commenced his cricketing journey by representing Kerala in Under-13 competitions in 2007. He bagged the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award in the 2007 KSCA Inter-State under-13, where he molded 973 runs from just five matches while maintaining an unreal average of over 108. Samson soon elevated to Kerala’s Under-16 teams for the 2008-09 Vijay Merchant Trophy, where his 498-run haul earned him captaincy assignments for Kerala in Under-19 levels.
His splendid run with the bat brought him tickets for the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the UAE, where he emerged as the highest run-getter for India. While he vice-captained the side under Vijay Zol, he was accompanied by modern-day Indian greats Shreyas Iyer and Kuldeep Yadav in India’s star-studded line-up.
IPL Beginnings for KKR and Rajasthan Royals
Sanju Samson was one of the youngsters selected among Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players pool ahead of the 2009 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He even landed his first contract through the KKR franchise for IPL 2012, earning a Rs.8 lakh pay cheque before getting released by them the following year without receiving a chance in the playing XI.
Fortunately for the then 19-year-old, the Rajasthan Royals franchise recognized his value and decided to invest in his talents for the subsequent few years. Samson eventually received his first IPL cap in 2013 through the Royals, and he represented them in the subsequent two editions before the franchise went on a two-year hiatus (2016 and 2017).
Long-Awaited Team India Debut and subsequent comeback
Sanju Samson was widely tipped to make his international debut for Team India in 2014, i.e., on the backdrop of his splendid run with the bat at the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The dynamic wicketkeeper-batsman was even selected for a white-ball series against England in August 2014 only to find himself on the bench for the entire tour.
Samson had to endure constant omissions, and a year-long wait to bag his maiden international cap with a T20I match in Zimbabwe. The cricketer ended up having a debut to forget as his sluggish 19 against Zimbabwe in Harare resulted in India’s 10-run defeat.
Return to Indian Team After Four Years
After his forgettable debut, Sanju Samson had to wait for over four years to get another crack at T20I cricket for the Indian team, this time while facing Sri Lanka at home and taking flights to New Zealand and Australia, all in the space of a 12-month period in 2020. However, the prodigious batting talent failed to leave a notable mark in each of his six playing appearances that year, with his 15-ball 23 against Australia at the Manuka Oval turning out to be his magnum opus T20I performance during the period.
Sanju Samson Overall T20I Stats
Sanju Samson has so far played 24 T20I matches for Team India since his format debut in 2015. The match-winning 77 (42) he blasted against Ireland at The Village in June 2022 not only remains his highest individual score, but is also the sole half-century of his T20I profile as of December 2023.
He also headlined India’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in January 2022 by listing a rapid 25-ball 39 at the HPCA Stadium. Samson’s momentary flashes of brilliances and inconsistent overall run has ensured that his career average remains a substandard 19.68. As one can expect, he is yet to cement his place in India’s T20I setup and he was also overlooked from the national squad for the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups in UAE and Australia respectively.
Sanju Samson T20I Stats
| T20I Matches | 24 |
|---|---|
| Innings | 21 |
| Runs | 374 |
| Average | 19.68 |
| Highest Score | 77 |
| Strike-Rate | 133.57 |
| 100s/50s | 0/1 |
Sanju Samson ODI Debut
Sanju Samson made a run-a-ball 46 on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in August 2021. Despite excelling in his only ODI outing at the time, he had to wait for exactly a year before taking flights to West Indies and Zimbabwe for his subsequent appearances in the playing XI. The cricketer notched up his maiden ODI half-century at the Queen’s Park Oval in August 2022, scoring 54 from just 51 balls and starring in India’s thrilling two-wicket win alongside Axar Patel.
His defining ODI knock came against South Africa a couple of months later in Lucknow, where he single-handedly led India’s run-scoring charge in a tense chase. The dynamic right-hander brandished his bat against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj to pump out 86 unbeaten runs from just 63 balls.
Samson eventually attained peak ODI glory during India’s December 2023 trip to South Africa, where he cracked the triple-digit score for the first time in his international career. Turning up for India in the series-deciding third ODI against the hosts at Boland Park, the audacious stroke-maker bashed 108 runs from just 114 balls to register his first century and celebrated team’s historic series win with a ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Sanju Samson ODI Stats
| ODI Matches | 16 |
|---|---|
| Innings | 14 |
| Runs | 510 |
| Average | 56.66 |
| Highest Score | 108 |
| Strike-Rate | 99.60 |
| 100s/50s | 1/3 |
Sanju Samson IPL Career, Top Records and Overall Stats
Sanju Samson, a veteran of over 150 IPL matches, holds a number of staggering records for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL. Commencing his IPL journey back in 2013 for the franchise, the cricketer hit his stride the following season by minting nearly 350 runs from 13 matches.
Delhi Capitals signed in Samson for the 2016 and 2017 editions of the tournament, i.e., at a time when the Rajasthan Royals were serving their exile. In one of their earlier games from the 2017 season, Samson, while batting at number three, bashed Rising Pune Supergiant with a sizzling 63-ball 102. The serial run-raider glittered his knock with five sixes and eight boundaries, and the innings itself marked his maiden T20 and IPL hundred. Samson’s 102-run effort against the Pune-based outfit was just the one of his batting masterclasses from his 2017’s 386-run tournament juggernaut.
Samson went from strength to strength once he returned to the Rajasthan Royals fold from 2018 onwards, where he bettered his preceding year’s effort by finishing with 441 runs from just 15 matches while maintaining an alluring average of over 31, and tallying three half-centuries in the process.
He also underpinned Rajasthan Royals’ sensational run-chase heist against Punjab Kings with a dazzling 42-ball 85 in 2020 in UAE, helping his side hunt down their 222-run target with relative ease. For his unyielding penchant for coming up clutch in crunch games, Samson was handed Royals’ captaincy role for the IPL 2021 season.
His finished his maiden season as captain by scoring 484 runs with the bat, his best yet, and tallied another 458 runs the following year while setting up his side to a date with Gujarat Titans in the final. However, on the day of the title clash, the Royals collapsed at the brink of glory to hand the newcomers their maiden IPL trophy.
Nonetheless, his successful returns as a team leader further enhanced his association with the Rajasthan Royals, making him one of the greatest legends of the franchise. Celebrating Sanju Samson’s career, here is a look at some of the biggest records he holds in IPL cricket:
- Sanju Samson is the highest run-getter for Rajasthan Royals across all IPL seasons (3,403 runs)
- Overall, Sanju Samson is placed at number 16 in the list of batsmen with most IPL runs to their name
- Sanju Samson is also the most-capped Rajasthan Royals player, leading second-placed Ajinkya Rahane by 24 matches
- Sanju Samson is the most successful wicketkeeper in Rajasthan Royals history, affecting over 50 more dismissals than second-placed Dishant Yagnik and third-placed Jos Buttler
- Sanju Samson is the 12th highest six-hitter in the history of IPL
Sanju Samson IPL Stats
| IPL Matches | 152 |
|---|---|
| Runs | 3,888 |
| Average | 29.23 |
| Highest Score | 119 |
| Strike-Rate | 137.19 |
| 100s/50s | 3/20 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Sanju Samson Career
Q: What year did Sanju Samson made his international debut for Team India?
A: Sanju Samson made his international debut for the Indian team through a T20I match against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in July 2015.
Q: Which team does Sanju Samson represents in BCCI’s state-level domestic competitions?
A: Sanju Samson plays for Kerala cricket team in all BCCI-organized domestic tournaments in India, including the prestigious Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy events.
Q: Which franchises has Sanju Samson played for in the Indian Premier League (IPL)?
A: Sanju Samson has played Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) franchises in the IPL. The Kerala-based batsman commenced his IPL journey with the Rajasthan Royals before spending two seasons at Delhi camp. Samson was reinstated as one of the Rajasthan Royals core members from the 2018 edition of the tournament.
Q: When was Sanju Samson appointed as Rajasthan Royals captain in IPL?
A: Sanju Samson was appointed as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals franchise ahead of the IPL 2021 season.
Q: How many centuries has Sanju Samson hit in international and in IPL cricket?
A: Sanju Samson has registered three IPL centuries and one ODI century for Team India at the international stage.
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