The rising star of Indian cricket, Sanju Samson celebrates his 26th birthday on Wednesday (November 11). Hailing from Kerela, the wicket-keeper batsman is one of the top contenders to become the successor of MS Dhoni and his performances in domestic cricket over the years have been incredible. Samson is a technically-sound batsman who can play anywhere in the batting order along with being a reliable wicket-keeper. Although selectors didn’t show a lot of faith on him in the past few years, he has been picked in the ODI and T20I team for India’s upcoming tour of Australia due to his impressive show for Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Sanju Samson Reveals Story Behind Rahul Tewatia’s Promotion.

Samson burst onto the scenes in IPL 2013 where he played several impressive knocks for the Jaipur-based team. Be it playing an anchor knock or scoring quick runs in the death overs, the youngster rose to all the challenges and impressed one and all. He continued to impress in the 2014 Under-19 World Cu, scoring three fifties. There was no looking back since then as he played one brilliant knock after another.  Samson even made his T20I debut in 2015 but didn’t get any opportunity till the next four years due to India’s mighty batting line-up in white-ball cricket. Nevertheless, he now has a great chance to cement his place in the national team with MS Dhoni bidding farewell to international cricket. As the rising star turns a year older, let’s look at some of his quick facts and records. New Zealand Tour Helped Me Grow in Confidence, Says Sanju Samson.

Sanju Samson Quick Fact & Records:

  1. Sanju Samson was born on November 11, 1994, in Kerala, India.

  2. Samson is the second-youngest player to score a half-century in IPL history.

  3. With 267 runs in six matches, Samson was India’s most successful batsman in 2014 Under-19 World Cup.

  4. He also won the Emerging Player of the Year award in IPL 2013.

  5. Samson made his international debut against Zimbabwe in July, 2015.

  6. The Rajasthan Royals dasher has scored two centuries in Indian Premier League.

  7. In 2019, he became the sixth and fastest Indian batsman to score a century in List-A cricket.

  8. The young batsman has missed 73 T20Is in his first and second T20I, biggest gap for any Indian player between two T20I games.

Meanwhile, India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs down under, starting from November 27. Although Samson is a back-up for KL Rahul, he’s all but likely to get chances in the tour. However, facing thunderbolts of Mitchell Sarc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins in the pace-friendly Australian conditions will indeed take some beating.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 11, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).