New Delhi: Amidst strong speculation of him wanting to snap the ties with Rajasthan Royals, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson said his long association with the IPL franchise has transformed his life and career.
It has been widely speculated that Samson has asked the Royals to relieve him ahead of this year’s IPL auction, and if that indeed happens it will mark the end of an association first started in 2013.
“RR has meant the world to me. A small child coming from a village in Kerala, wanting to show his talent. And then Rahul (Dravid) sir and Manoj Badale sir gave me a stage to get up and show the world what I am made of,” Samson told former India spinner R Ashwin in his YouTube show.
As reported by PTI on Friday, Ashwin himself has been in discussion with Chennai Super Kings for a possible move on, and the five-time champions have been spoken about as a likely destination for Samson.
“That time, they trusted me throughout. The journey with RR has been really great, and I’m very grateful to have been in a franchise like that. It really means a lot to me,” Samson added.
His IPL future might be a subject of intense debate now, but the 30-year-old seemed to have finally found some stability in his international career.
Samson struck three T20I hundreds in five matches against Bangladesh and South Africa last year, underlining his growing consistency, and the Kerala batter thanked head coach Gautam Gambhir and then skipper Suryakumar Yadav for their unstinted support.
“The change happened after the T20 World Cup (2024). Gautam bhai came in, and Surya came in as the captain. I was playing a Duleep Trophy game in Andhra. Surya was playing for the other team.
“He told me, ‘There is a good opportunity coming up for you. We have seven (T20I) games (vs Bangladesh and South Africa) lined up, and I am going to give you all seven games as an opener,” said Samson.
The current Royals skipper also remembered the backing from Gambhir.
“The words coming out from the captain’s mouth itself actually felt, Oh wow, great. I played two games in Sri Lanka but was unable to score runs. I was a bit down in the dressing room, and Gautam bhai came up to me and asked what had happened.
“I said, ‘After a long time, I got a chance, but I failed to capitalise’. He said, ‘So what? I’ll drop you if you register 21 ducks’. That’s the word which he used,” he said.
Samson said those words boosted his confidence.“That kind of confidence from the captain and the coach has definitely raised my confidence. That really helped me to go out there and perform,” he added.