On Sunday, March 12, Sanju Samson, a wicketkeeper-batter for Team India, took to social media to share a picture with South superstar Rajinikanth. As a kid, he had always dreamed of meeting the famous actor, and being able to take a picture together in his own home, made that dream come true. Unfortunately, Samson has not played for India since suffering a knee injury while fielding at the Wankhede Stadium in January during the first T20I of the home series against Sri Lanka. He has yet to be recalled to the national side.
On Sunday, Samson proudly shared a picture of him with the iconic Rajinikanth. His admiration for the cricketer was evident from the photo. The batter-keeper wrote after uploading the image:
“At the age of 7 already being a Super Rajni fan, I told my parents ..See one day I will go and meet Rajni sir in his house…
“After 21 years, that day has come when The Thalaivar invited me..☺️????????.”
“No Room to Grow: Aakash Chopra’s take on Samson’s lack of opportunity”
Aakash Chopra believes that Sanju Samson has not made the most of his chances with the Indian cricket team, leading to an ongoing debate about why he is not receiving more opportunities. Despite this, he adds that Samson may remain on the sidelines due to the abundance of wicket-keeping options already in the squad. He stated:
“Sanju has a cult following. When he plays well, he makes batting look easy. He is pleasing to the eyes and took his team to the Ranji final, and IPL final. Got some opportunities for India but didn’t make the most of them. And this is a reality that fans do not understand. Sanju realizes that he is going to get limited opportunities in the current set-up.
“There is just no place in the XI. Ishan Kishan scored a double-century and yet was benched for the next few matches. When he did, he was asked to bat at No. 5. There isn’t a place. And it’s not because KL Rahul wasn’t available. Had he been available, he would have still sat out.”
Samson has had an impressive cricketing career thus far, representing India in 11 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 17 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) while accumulating 330 and 301 runs, respectively.
