Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson is having a gala time in the ongoing IPL 2024. The team is second on the points table with 8 wins from 10 matches and 16 points. One more win in the next 4 matches will ensure their place in the playoffs.
Samson had led from the front with 385 runs in 10 games with 4 half-centuries and a strike rate of 159.09.
Samson entered the IPL in 2009 as one of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ many talented players. After three years of waiting, KKR signed Samson before of the 2012 season.
However, after warming the benches, the organization released Samson without even giving him a chance after winning its first title that year. And then his statemate Sreesanth proved to be a game changer in his cricketing career.
In an old video of Samson appearing on a Malayalam TV show, the cricketer recalled how Sreesanth lied to Rahul Dravid, who was then RR captain, and said that this kid from Kerala had hit 6 sixes from 6 balls, which helped him get the game time in RR.
“Being with KKR, I wasn’t getting a look-in. But during a match against RR, when [Rahul] Dravid was leading them, Sreesanth spotted him in the hotel lobby and vouched for me. He told him, ‘There’s this kid from Kerala who smashed six sixes in an over in a local tournament. We should definitely give him a trial,” Samson said in that video.
The Royals, clearly impressed by the young talent’s potential, picked him up, and he’s been a vital cog in their machine ever since his debut in 2013.
“When Rahul bhai saw him bat, he was convinced” – Sreesanth reveals that he lied about Sanju Samson
Samson’s story was corroborated earlier when Sreesanth admitted to using lies to get the young wicketkeeper batter into the RR squad.
Sreesanth, a two-time World Cup winner for India, hilariously revealed that even though Dravid caught his lie up front, it did not take the veteran to realize just what a spectacular talent Samson was.
“Rahul bhai listened to me when I introduced Sanju to him. I lied to him, I said, ‘This kid hit me for six sixes in a local tournament’. Rahul bhai said, ‘Shree, kuch bhi bol, ye kyu bol raha hai?’ (Say anything, but why are you lying like this),” Sreesanth said on Sportskeeda.
“He didn’t do too well in a few practice games. But when Rahul bhai saw him bat, he was convinced; he came to me and said, ‘Sree, don’t let this Sanju guy go to any other selection; we are signing him. Whether or not he’d get matches, I don’t know, but we would like to sign him,” he added.