KOCHI: Rajasthan Royals skipper and Kerala star Sanju Samson is leading the charge for his state in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Kerala face Himachal Pradesh in the pre-quarters on November 16.
Sanju made news for a heartwarming gesture off the field as he came forward to help out a budding footballer.
The cricketer sponsored the flight ticket of footballer Adarsh who got shortlisted for a one-month training stint with Spanish fifth division outfit CD La Virgen del Camino. He will also get to play some competitive matches.
The minister for Fisheries Culture and Youth Affairs and Chengannur MLA Saji Cherian announced this through a Facebook post.
Adarsh plays as a left winder and studies at the Mar Thoma College in Thiruvalla.
"Let's hope that Adarsh becomes our pride and star in the years to come. Let's hope this opportunity paves the way for him," Cherian's post read.
Samson is known to come with such gestures in the past. During a South Africa A tour of India, Samson had given away his match fees to the ground staff.
It was a truncated series held in Thiruvananthapuram and as a gesture to the ground staff who helped host matches there amidst rains, Sanju gave away his match fees after putting in a man-of-the-match performance in one of the games. In a bid to thank the ground staff for helping in hosting the matches, Sanju gave his entire match fee away.