T'PURAM: There is a crazy following for Sanju Samson in this part of the country. Almost cult-like attracting an unbelievable fanfare that seems hypnotic at times. It spills over the state boundaries to neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu. But nothing compares to that of Kerala. It is a common sight to see him mobbed by crowds even during practice.
It was evident from the moment he stepped out of the aircraft. When the team came out of the airport on Friday evening, skipper Suryakumar Yadav doubled up as Samson’s security officer. The opener from Kerala was cheered by a vociferous crowd that assembled there to get a glimpse of their beloved star.
On Friday evening, even as the Sun was beating down, the balcony near the press conference room at the Greenfield International Stadium was buzzing with a posse of photographers and television channel crew. The India team just arrived and head coach Gautam Gambhir was the first to walk out of the dressing room and headed straight towards the pitch. The coach wanted to ensure he read it right ahead of the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand.
However, the cameras and their persons waited patiently for Samson to come out of the dressing room. They too know the significance of Saturday’s match. When he walks out to open the batting in the fifth T20I, it will be his first international appearance at his home ground. In the past, he has been part of the squad but never played a match. Samson in Kerala is similar to that of MS Dhoni or R Ashwin in Chennai or a Virat Kohli in Bengaluru or New Delhi. He is, without a doubt, the biggest batting star to come out of the scenic southern state.
Understandably, he would be the centre of attention when India take on NZ in the last T20I, irrespective of what happens on the field. “I think the stadium is going to be full. So there will be a huge support for him,” Kerala Cricket Association secretary Vinod S Kumar told this daily. “Everyone expects him to get some big runs. Here in Kerala, everyone is a fan of Sanju. There will be an enthusiastic crowd who will be rooting for him to make a huge century.”
On the field, Samson is still searching for that one big knock. After three low scores, he got a start in Visakhapatnam but fell just after the powerplay. This being the last game before the T20 World Cup, he needs to get some runs, especially with Ishan Kishan in golden touch. “Sanju has not scored as many runs as everybody would like, but that's part of his cricketing career. Sometimes you have five innings in a row where you score so many runs and sometimes you have a little tight period. So it's all up to an individual how to keep his mind strong and obviously our job is to keep him in a good frame of mind and he practices and he works hard, so we all know what Sanju is capable of. I don't think anything more to say about Sanju because he has been really good,” batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Friday.
The good thing for Samson is that there isn’t a better place for him to be other than Thiruvananthapuram at the moment. For there is nothing like scoring runs and winning matches at home ground in front of fans and family who worship and adore him for his cricketing skills.