Son of former national footballer Samson Viswanthan, Sanju’s first love was cricket, and more than anyone else his father encouraged him the most. A constable in Delhi Police, he toiled his heart out to meet his expenses, spending most of his income to sustain Sanju and his brother, Sali, who had played for the state junior team.
Now that his son has managed to climb up the rungs, Samson should be a content man. He said he endured all the hardships to train his boys because he wanted to see them grow ‘big’. “I wanted them to play cricket because the cricketers are held in high esteem by the society,” he said.
The IPL journey of Sanju V Samson, Rajasthan Royals’s teenage wicket keeper-batsman from Kerala, is worth detailing as it is an enthralling narrative of passion for the game and perseverance. The sublime talent of Sanju, the 18-year-old right hand batsman- wicket keeper, came to the fore in his maiden outing for Royals against Kings IX Punjab. It was Sanju’s timely knock of 27 off 23 balls, along with Ajinkya Rahane’s 34, which helped RR tilt the match in their favour.
After the match, the RR team was all in praise of his character. “It was a cool performance in which he never gave an impression that he was playing in his first game,” said Sachin Baby, Sanju’s teammate. Interestingly, the two internationals from Kerala were bowlers — Tinu Yohannan and S Sreesanth, and Sanju seems to be the only probable to make the squad as a wicket keeper- batsman.
Sanju’s coach Biju George, who is also the coach of SAI, said the credit of his performance should go to his father Samson Viswananthan, who had to bend his back to support his children’s ambition.