How Sreesanth's lie altered Sanju Samson's career completely
Sreesanth had lied about Sanju Samson to RR's former captain Rahul Dravid. Samson was signed by Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2013.
Sanju Samson has been an integral part of Rajasthan Royals since 2013. The talented wicketkeeper-batter was signed by RR in 2013 after his stint with KKR in the previous year. He made his IPL debut the same year and won the best young player of the season award by scoring 206 runs and taking 13 catches. Ahead of IPL 2021, he was appointed as the captain of Rajasthan Royals.
However, Samson's first IPL stint was with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012. KKR signed Samson ahead of IPL 2012 but the youngster was benched for the whole season and was subequently released afterwards.
How a lie from Sreesanth changed Sanju Samson's career
Kolkata Knight Riders released Sanju Samson from its squad after winning its first IPL title in 2012. Looking for a new IPL team, the youngster was eager to prove himself on the big stage. It was at this time when Samson's senior Kerala teammate S Sreesanth lied about him to Rahul Dravid, who was RR's captain at that time.
Sreesanth was playing for Rajasthan Royals during that time. In an old video shared on X, Samson was seen revealing about the lie that Sreesanth told to Rahul Dravid
Was in KKR but couldn't get games, Sreeshanth was in RR & when we had a game with RR where Dravid was their skipper, Sreeshanth stopped Dravid in the hotel & told him, this kid is from kerala, he has hit 6 sixes in an over in a local tourney, we should give him a trial & sanju is… pic.twitter.com/PaxWLb1C90
— arfan (@Im__Arfan) May 5, 2024
"Being with KKR, I wasn't getting a look-in. But during a match against RR, when (Rahul) Dravid was leading them, Sreesanth spotted him in the hotel lobby and vouched for me. He told him, 'There's this kid from Kerala who smashed six sixes in an over in a local tournament. We should definitely give him a trial,'" Samson said.
Samson's story was validated last September by Sreesanth himself. In a chat with Sportskeeda, the former India fast bowler hilariously revealed how he used lie as a tool to get Samson within RR's system. However, he also said that it didn't take long for Dravid to catch his lie.
"Rahul bhai listened to me when I introduced Sanju to him. I lied to him, I said, 'This kid hit me for six sixes in a local tournament'. Rahul bhai said, 'Shree, kuch bhi bol, ye kyu bol raha hai?' (Say anything, but why are you lying like this)," Sreesanth had said.
"He didn't do too well in a few practice games. But when Rahul bhai saw him bat, he was convinced; he came to me and said, 'Sree, don't let this Sanju guy go to any other selection; we are signing him. Whether or not he'd get matches, I don't know, but we would like to sign him,'" he added.
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Sanju Samson has been in excellent form in IPL 2024 so far having scored 385 runs in 10 matches at a brilliant average of 64.16. Because of his good form, he was selected in India's squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 as well. As Rajasthan Royals' skipper, Samson has led the team from the front and has won them a numerous games this season.
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