Sanju Samson : Team India wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson has one of the most dedicated fan following, despite his limited set of appearances for the national side since his debut in 2015. His appearances in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and his flamboyant and eye-pleasing style of play have certainly earned him an ardent fan base across all corners of the world.
Sanju Samson : Samson is worshipped in his home state, Kerala, which is not renowned for churning out generational players regularly, compared to other state associations. As a result, it is quite obvious that he is absolutely worshipped in the region. However, the love and adoration for the player slowly spread, and the outrage on social media was evident whenever the player was in the squad, but excluded from the playing XI.
Sanju Samson : The wicket-keeper is yet to play a single international outing in his home turf, despite India playing six white-ball fixtures in Trivandrum since 2018. Although not part of the playing XI, Samson has often been part of the travelling squad, and just a mere glimpse of him is more than enough for the passionate home base.
Sanju Samson : Samson recalled how the Trivandrum crowd went berserk after seeing him, even though he was not a part of the proceedings, as far as the match was concerned.
“I think I remember playing a game, I didn’t play the game, but I came with the Indian team in Trivandrum for the first time, and I just walked on the field and the whole stadium just went after me. From there, I kind of started feeling the passion and love for the game through me. In Kerala, there is definitely a lot of noise and a lot of support which has been shown, but when we travel abroad, like New Zealand, there also I was not playing, but one stand full with photo and all,” Samson said in an interview with R Ashwin.
“I don’t know what to do with it actually, what am I supposed to do? I think you just have to play your game, perform well, and try to be nice with the people who love and support you, so very grateful for that,” he added.
The support for Sanju Samson crossed all barriers after banners of him were on display during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Fans had printed out large posters to showcase support for the player after he was benched for the second ODI during the tour of New Zealand.
“I have tried to play around with all those critics” – Sanju Samson on dealing with critics amid a roller-coaster career
The Kerala wicket-keeper has had the hard task of maintaining consistency in sporadic appearances, and has had to battle some serious competition for the wicket-keeper spot in both white-ball format squads. The lack of a long rope over the years, has obviously led to some erratic scores, which the critics have often pounced upon.
Samson explained how handling criticism is crucial to succeed in Indian cricket, while also noting how he used it to his own benefit by improving from it.
“All this critics and all, the pressure which we face, sometimes I felt like, I should avoid all that, I should focus on that I have my own pressures, I have my own things to follow, things to achieve, but lately I found out being an Indian cricketer, you have to be in that environment to receive all these things. Take in the right way, try to prove them wrong, or maybe use the energy in some other manner. I have tried to play around with all those critics, and somewhere it has actually helped me,” Samson elaborated.
Consistency, inability to convert starts, and shot selection are still some of the points raised against Samson to this date. However, with the high-risk brand of cricket being played in the modern era, fans and pundits have been more accepting of his faults.
