Editor’s note: This article was published a few weeks before IPL 2019 and is now being updated after Sanju Samson became the first centurion of the 12th edition.
It’s the middle of the afternoon, the summer heat is settling in on Mumbai, and players from the Rajasthan Royals are in the middle of an intense practice session ahead of Indian Premier League 2019.
Batsman after batsman walks into the open nets, wipes his brow, and smacks it with all his might. The ball isn’t traveling too far though... it’s barely crossing the rope. But then Sanju Samson takes guard, and within the next ten minutes, two balls have sailed out of the stadium.
There isn’t any brute force involved in his strokes, just pure timing. The delivery is pitched slightly short, he rocks back and pulls it beyond the stands with one clean swing. From afar it looks like a simple tap on the ball. The next one’s tossed up, he leans in and drives it over covers. And just like the previous shot, the ball travels further than you’d imagine.
Not everyone can time the ball the way Samson does. To have an orthodox technique and still make the ball spring off the bat like that. Few players are born with this kind of touch. VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma. There aren’t many. And then you wonder, why is a guy with such immense ability not plying his trade at the highest level?
Samson turned 24 in November, but it seems like he’s been around forever. The wicketkeeper-batsman burst onto the scene when the Royals gave him his IPL debut in 2013. His ball-striking ability was there for all to see. For a small guy, he packed a solid punch.
Rahul Dravid, coach of the Royals back then, was one of the first ones to see a promising future for the Kerala lad.
“It’s definitely a great motivation when you’re praised by legends like him. It motivates you to keep working hard,” says Samson in a chat with Scroll.in.
Tragically, though, his international career never took off. The solitary match that Samson has played for India was way back in 2015, a T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare. In that game, it was Robin Uthappa who did the glove work for India.
Wicketkeeping hasn’t been Samson’s strongest suit. Despite ‘keeping regularly in domestic cricket and the IPL, he hasn’t made a real mark with his skills behind the stumps.
“For me, it only depends on what the team needs. It they require me to ‘keep, I’ll ‘keep, if they want me to field and bat, I’m happy to do that as well. It’s entirely the team’s call,” he says.
But with a modest average of 36.81 after 53 first class matches, perhaps, building his stature as a wicketkeeper wouldn’t be a bad idea for Samson.
In 2002-‘03, there were three youngsters trying to make the wicketkeeper’s spot in the Indian team their own. Parthiv Patel made his international debut in 2002, and Dinesh Karthik followed suit in 2004, but it was Mahendra Singh Dhoni who came from behind and sealed the spot.
Today, with these three veterans nearing the end of their careers, Indian cricket faces a proposition similar to the one it had about 17 years ago. Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan and Samson are the standout young ‘keeper-batsmen in the country at the moment.
Pant has established himself as an international cricketer over the past year, with Test centuries in England and Australia. Another such season for the left-hander, and we could have Dhoni’s permanent replacement.
Samson, however, doesn’t see it as a three-way race with Pant and Kishan. In fact, he isn’t quite sure of what lies ahead of him. “To be very honest, I don’t know where I’m standing. I don’t look at competition. Rishabh is a very good player, he’s an explosive batsman who’s doing very well for India, and I’m very happy for him. At the same time, I know my strengths, too. I have also done well,” he says.
The last few years have been a rollercoaster for Samson and he hasn’t always been in the news for the right reasons. Towards the end of 2016, he was dropped from Kerala’s Ranji Trophy team following allegations of indiscipline. In June last year, he failed a fitness test and was subsequently dropped from the India A squad that was to tour England. And in September 2018, Samson was among 13 players who were handed sanctions by the Kerala Cricket Association for dissent against skipper Sachin Baby.
On the bright side, though, Samson top-scored for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 season with 627 runs. He also scored an impressive 441 runs for the Royals in IPL 2018, prompting the then RR mentor Shane Warne to say this to cricket.com.au: “He’s good against pace and spin in all conditions and I think he’s going to be the next superstar of Indian cricket. He’s the new rock star, Sanju Samson, that’s for sure. He’s an outstanding player and he’s a quality international cricketer. India at the moment are blessed with some riches of talent. I think our man, Sanju Samson, is right up there with Pant. I think those two guys are probably the two best young Indian batsmen I’ve seen in a long, long time.”
What looks like a bright future at the moment may not be the case in a season or two. With Indian cricket throwing up talented new batsmen every season, and with the next crop of ‘keepers just around the corner, now is, perhaps, the time for Samson to make his big move.
“It’s just a matter of time,” he says. “If I keep working hard and doing the right things at the right time, I’ll be there one day.”