‘We spoke minutes after T20 World Cup selection but Sanju Samson was interested about Kerala cricket’

It has always been a story of so near yet so far for Sanju Samson. Despite being a consistent performer for the Rajasthan Royals, he has rarely got back-to-back opportunities for India, which hurt his chances of cementing his place in the white-ball sides. In the sporadic opportunities that he got, he didn't set the stage alight. The result? Not a single ICC tournament in his 10-year-long career. But the wait finally came to an end when Samson was named in India's 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies.

He has to fight a battle with Rishabh Pant to get into the XI, but that's a different debate. It was anyway a dream come true moment for the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter. One would expect the emotions to run high but not for Samson. He is a bit different. There are other things going on his head, that are closer to his heart. This is not to suggest, that representing India in the World Cup isn't but he doesn't let the emotions get the better of him.

Biju George, the former India women's cricket team's fielding coach and Samson's early mentor underscored his passion for state cricket.

"We spoke a few minutes after his selection to the T20 World Cup. But he was more interested in talking about the need for Kerala to win at least one trophy in the upcoming domestic season.

"He was saying that more children will take up cricket in the state if the team gets some success at the national level," he told PTI.

Geroge saw that brightly flickering flame inside Sanju at a very young age.

"Rain or sunshine Sanju and his brother Saly will be at nets at the Medical College ground in Thiruvananthapuram. It was raining heavily one day here, and I thought Sanju would not come for nets from his home at Vizhinjam, nearly 25 kilometres from the centre.

"But he was there on time. He carried his (cricket) kit in which he also stuffed his school uniform, so that he could go to school after training. Even at that age, he had next level resolve," said George.

Perhaps, that discipline came from his family. Viswanath, his father, was a football player with Delhi Police for nearly two decades and firmly supported his son’s aspirations.

He would arrange nets for Sanju and his brother with the Delhi Police team, and they often played against cricketers much older than them.

"His father is a great source of inspiration for him, even when I first met him during his junior cricket days. He would come to watch Sanju's matches without fail," said Gomez.

Samson is in great form for RR this season. The right-hander has already scored 471 runs at a strike rate of 163 this year. If he can manage to carry that form into the World Cup, it would hold him and India in a better stage.

(With PTI inputs)