Samson remembered how he got his first RR contract by impressing the legendary Rahul Dravid ahead of RR’s away game against RCB.
Sanju Samson’s name has become synonymous with the Rajasthan Royals. Samson has played in more IPL matches for the Rajasthan Royals than any other player. In the IPL, no player has scored more runs for Rajasthan than Samson. And he is currently second in the history of most appearances as RR captain in the IPL, trailing only the late great Shane Warne. His current assignment with Rajasthan, however, is only his second. Samson had previously played for Rajasthan before his two-season IPL contract with the Delhi team, and before of the away game against RCB, Samson recounted how he got his first RR contract by impressing the legendary Rahul Dravid.
Samson was part of a pool of players named by KKR in 2009 ahead of the IPL season that year. He was signed by the franchise in 2012, but did not make an appearance before moving to Rajasthan Royals the following year, where he made his IPL debut.
Samson recently disclosed to Star Sports that he was taken for RR trials by senior India cricketer Sreesanth, his Kerala colleague who joined the franchise the same year.
The India star said that during the two-day tryout, he delivered a performance unlike any other under the careful eyes of Dravid and Paddy Upton. An enthusiastic Dravid approached him and offered him a chance to play for RR.
“I went to the RR trials with Sreesanth. Dravid was present. Paddy Upton was present. I didn’t have high hopes for the trials because I didn’t know what type of players they were searching for. It was a two-day trial, but it was incredibly amazing since I have never batted like that before. Then Rahul sir approached me and said, “You are definitely doing great.” Do you want to play for RR?” Given that it came from Rahul sir, that gave me a lot of confidence. “If a legend like him says, ‘I’m good enough,’ then I am,” he explained.
Samson was a member of the franchise for three seasons before returning to Rajasthan in 2018. He was later elected captain in 2021 and led the franchise to their first IPL final since their historic run in 2008.
