Sanju Samson talked about how his early cricket career was shaped into the player he is now by his parents’ sacrifices. The wicketkeeper-batter is widely regarded as one of India’s top batters in Twenty20 Internationals following his heroics at the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he was voted Player of the Tournament.
Sanju Samson came to the realisation that his parents’ sacrifices shouldn’t go in vain. Because of this, the right-handed hitter developed a sense of responsibility at a young age and always wanted to make sure that his parents’ hard work paid off. As a result, when he started employing his trait in cricket and got a low score, he was always unhappy.
“We enjoyed our schedule, morning practice, go to school, run back, and train again. At that age, it made us feel like we were doing something worthwhile. We were respected for it by our classmates at school and the academy. They respected us even more when they saw how hard we worked.
There was a constant, subdued pressure in the back of my mind even as a child. When you see your father move his entire world for you, and your mother sacrifice her sleep every day, you understand you can’t take a single day off,” Sanju Samson said on JioStar. “That is why getting out for 30 or 40 and then going home and telling my dad that I got out for 30 felt a bit heavy.
In retrospect, though, I believe that setting brought out the best in me. While my buddies played for fun, I strolled onto the field with one purpose, to make my parents proud and make their sacrifices count. I was able to stay focused at such an early age because of that,” he continued.
Sanju Samson remembers his hardships with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Sanju Samson also recalls being escorted to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tryouts by Biju George, his underage coach. Before turning fifteen, the wicketkeeper said he was in awe of meeting Sourav Ganguly and John Buchanan in person. Additionally, he recognises the role Biju George played in his early years, providing him with opportunities that he would not have otherwise had.
“After I went on to perform well for Kerala in the Under-13 tournament, Biju sir took me all the way to the Kolkata Knight Riders selection trials when I was just 14 years old. That was absolutely surreal for a 14-year-old. Sourav Ganguly sir was the captain of KKR at the time, while John Buchanan was the head coach.
I gave my trials in front of them, and based on that performance, they selected me to be a part of the KKR ‘B’ team during that moment. We even got to fly to Sri Lanka for matches with the ‘B’ team. Biju sir consistently opened doors and created possibilities for us, thus the credit for shaping the early phases of my career would always, unconditionally, belong to him,” he added.
It is vital to keep in mind that Samson joined KKR, their first Indian Premier League side, in 2012, the year they won their maiden title. But it wasn’t until he joined the Rajasthan Royals a year later that the Keralan batsman played a single game.
