AHMEDABAD: Adipoli. It's a Malayalam word encompassing a lot of things. Superb. Stunning. Sensational. Fantastic. Ever since Sanju Samson became a household name in Kerala, his fans have used that word to describe him. At one point during the T20 World Cup, Sanjana Ganesan, a presenter and an anchor during the event, welcomed Sanju Samson with the words 'chetta, adipoli (brother, superb)'.
The video has since been clipped and reshared thousands of times on. On Monday morning, the rest of the country finally cottoned on to what Keralites had maintained all along.
Samson was — is — adipoli.
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Faith is central to the Samson story. It's why one of the first things he did after playing that match-winning knock against West Indies in Kolkata was to kneel down before drawing a cross. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. "Thanks to the Lord Almighty for actually blessing me today," he said later. "I have kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking... can I make it?"
Throughout vast swathes of the current regime, he was identified as the designated opener keeping this event in mind. Yet, just before the beginning of the World Cup, Samson suffered a crisis of confidence. He couldn't buy a run, that famous stillness in his game disappeared. Was his moment going to be priced away from him again? He had lost his place but he got it back thanks to a tactical rejig at the top of the order. His career, according to coach Gambhir, was perhaps on the line when he faced Zimbabwe in Chennai. The opposition wanted to give him hell.
Unknown to the world, he had already dialled Sachin Tendulkar. Something clicked during that Zimbabwe game in Chennai. Things fell into place. To hell he had been to but he was back. Tendulkar had been on speed dial but there was something more fundamental keeping him in a good place. His faith. Indian cricketers are generally God fearing — they readily express this in interviews and most of them visit places of worship -- but it's easy to see why Samson is this way.
The coastal town of Vizhinjam, a small community near Thiruvananthapuram where he grew up, revolves around a centuries old church with a Portuguese connection. The 31-year-old was never tired of hearing stories of how the legend associated with the church (Our Lady of Sea Voyage) came to be known. Whenever he's home, he makes it a point to keep his Sunday mornings free.
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At Rajasthan Royals, Samson liked to keep to himself. He had his circle of friends but was generally shy. A borderline introvert. But he ensured he had the perfect work-life balance. On the field, he put in the hard yards. Off the field, he liked to explore other things. He would seldom pore over the minutiae of an opposition bowler. He was all about instinct when batting.
When not working on his game, the thing that got him going was South Indian movies. That's not a surprise. In an interview last year during the Asia Cup, Samson compared his role in the team to that of Mohanlal, a legend of the Indian film industry and a true Mollywood icon. "See, there's our actor Mohanlal, who got a big award (Dadasaheb Phalke award) from the Indian government," he told Sanjay Manjrekar. "He has been an actor for over 40 years. I have been playing for India for 10 years. I can't come in and say I want to do the 'hero' role every time. I can do the villain role. I can also do the Joker role for my country." The context was Samson was demoted to the middle order after Shubman Gill was entrusted with the task of opening the batting with Abhishek Sharma. He ended that particular interview by calling himself 'Sanju Mohanlal Samson'.
When he's not watching Malayalam films, he's watching Tamil ones (after becoming world champion on Sunday night, he was sharing a punch dialogue from Padayappa, a blockbuster Rajinikanth movie, in an Insta reel shared by Washington Sundar. His association with movies doesn't end there. He's very close to Basil Joseph, actor and director. Joseph, who likes to call himself president of the 'Sanju Samson fan club: Kerala chapter', was of course in Ahmedabad to cheer for his friend. And, yes, he had come to the Stadium wearing Samson's jersey
In fact, Samson, who generally doesn't grant exclusive interviews to cricket scribes, sat down with Joseph for a four part video interview four years ago (to know the man behind the jersey, it's appointment viewing).
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The Premier League has been trying to eye the Indian market for a long time. They have generally used film personalities to sell the product during live coverage of the league. Last year, they approached Samson, a Liverpool fan, to sell their product to Indian homes. He readily agreed. Since then, he has shared a ground with Michael Owen as well as becoming an ambassador for the Premier League in India. As part of the gig, one of the things he had to do was to match different Premier League players with colleagues from the Indian team. When it was time to match Mo Salah, Samson's eyes lit up and he managed a wide grin. "Me."
Samson, in many ways, has been omnipresent in Indian cricket. In his own words, he has played different roles but the last week was all about him channelling the main character energy of Mohanlal to own his moment at the biggest stage.
Samson was — is — adipoli.
