India's Sanju Samson plays a shot en route to his century against South Africa during the 4th T20I in Johannesburg on Friday (November 15). Photo: X/@BCCI
Sanju’s sensational T20I run: Coach backs Samson for Tests
Samson's childhood coach Biju George says the wicketkeeper-batter can serve Indian cricket in the five-day format too as an aggressive opener
Indian batter Sanju Samson is making headlines with his sensational batting in T20Is. On Friday (November 15) he scored another hundred against South Africa, his third including back-to-back tons, in just five innings in the shortest format of the game.
With two centuries in four games in the away series against South Africa, Samson has, for now, sealed the opener’s slot in the T20Is. Thanks to him and Tilak Varma (2 consecutive hundreds), India clinched the four-match rubber 3-1 on Friday.
Also read: Sanju Samson, first batter to score 3 T20I tons in a calendar year
'Sanju should open for Kerala in Ranji Trophy'
The 30-year-old right-handed Samson, who made his T20I debut nine years ago, in 2015, did not get enough chances to prove his ability. He has featured in only 37 T20Is so far during the nine-year period.
But, now things could change for the better for the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter.
Also read: Sanju Samson: Gambhir, Suryakumar, Laxman supported me during my failures
In the future he can play a major role as an opener in the Indian Test team too, feels Samson’s childhood coach Biju George.
Expectedly, George was elated after watching Samson’s 56-ball 109 not out against the Proteas in the fourth T20I in Johannesburg on Friday and backed Samson to succeed in the same aggressive way in Test cricket as well.
Also read: I can do much better: Sanju Samson after hitting second fastest T20I ton for India
“Samson has been absolutely brilliant, scoring three T20I hundreds in five innings. I am over the moon seeing him bat like this,” George told The Federal in an exclusive chat on Saturday (November 16).
“The way Sanju has been batting in T20s, there is no doubt he can succeed in Test cricket too. If you look back at Test cricket history, there have been players who have succeeded with their attack batting including Virender Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, and Krishnamachari Srikkanth to name a few. Nowadays, four runs per over has become a norm in Test cricket.
“And, Sanju can contribute to the Indian Test team. Probably, he should open the batting for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy and score heavily replicating his white-ball form in red-ball and impress the BCCI selectors. It is every cricketer’s ultimate dream to don India whites and blue cap in Tests and Sanju too will be hoping to make his Test debut soon,” George said backing Samson for Tests.
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According to him, the key to Samson’s batting is his timing and not brute force. “Even for his biggest sixes, he relies on timing, not hitting the ball hard.”
Parents' sacrifices
George said Samson interacts with him and their recent meeting was in August after the batter visited his home after returning from India’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Sanju Samson with his childhood coach Biju George. File photo: George
Recalling the time when he first saw Samson as an 11-year-old, George credited his parents for sacrificing a lot for their son’s cricket career.
“First of all, hats off to Sanju’s father (Samson Viswanath) and mother (Ligy Viswanath) for the amount of sacrifices they made for their sons’ cricket careers. Sanju’s father quit his government job (Delhi Police) in Delhi and returned to Kerala for his sons (Sanju and Saly). At the time, cricket was not so popular in Kerala, and he took a big risk.
“They (parents) struggled a lot till their sons succeeded in cricket. I started coaching Sanju when he was 11 years old and his brother Saly was 12. I started coaching them at the Trivandrum Medical College Ground (Also known as MCG). It was at this ground that Sanju’s cricket journey started,” George said.
In the early 2000s, Biju was a coach at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) coaching centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
Samson's cricket journey
The coach recalled how a 12-year-old Sanju, despite not having good quality bats, could easily clearly 70-yard boundaries in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Young Sanju did not have good quality bats but with those ordinary ones, he could easily clear the 70-yard boundary. Later, it was SG (Sanspareils Greenlands) company and its co-owner Paras Anand who were kind enough to give a bat contract to 13-year-old Sanju. Also, IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) took Samson to their academy, which helped him a lot,” George said.
It was with KKR that Samson’s IPL journey began in 2012. At 17, he was part of the Kolkata franchise’s squad but did not get to play a game. In 2013, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL players auction and is currently the captain of the side.
Even today, George is guiding many youngsters in Kerala, helping them nurture their cricket dreams. Till the last season (IPL 2024), he was with the Delhi Capitals (DC) as their fielding coach and has also worked with the Indian women’s cricket team.
Praising Samson for being humble and “not flaunting his riches” and “not behaving like a star”, the coach described him as “a simple kid” adored by his fans.
