Kerala has done well in the league stages of Ranji Trophy 2017/18 season winning 5 matches. Their only loss came to defending Champions Gujarat by 4 wickets. Every team member performed according to the situation of the game. With no big names in the squad and Dav Whatmore as the head coach, Kerala qualified for the knockout stages for the first time.
Jalaj Saxena has done well for Kerala with both bat and ball. His experience came to the limelight with his off-spin bowling and contributed vital runs while opening the batting. Sanju Samson played his 1st match for Kerala on 3rd November 2011. In the 2015/16 edition of Ranji season, Samson was named as the captain of Kerala side.
He made his Indian Premier League debut for Rajasthan during the 2013 edition. Under the guidance of Rahul Dravid, Samson performed well for RR scoring 206 runs in 11 matches with a strike rate of 115.73. Sanju Samson impressed one and all, named as the emerging player of the tournament. In 2014 edition, the young dashing batsman scored 339 runs in 13 matches with a strike rate of 124.17.
In this year’s IPL season, Sanju Samson showed his batting class, scoring 386 runs in 14 matches with the best score of 102 against Rising Pune Supergiants. This time too, Rahul Dravid was the mentor of the Delhi Daredevils side. He scored at a strike rate of 141.39
During the 2013/14 edition of Ranji Trophy season, Samson played one of his best knocks scoring 211 with 23 fours and 5 sixes. He was the leading runs getter for Kerala during that season with 530 runs in 6 matches.
Samson was included in the 17 man team for the 5 match ODI series and 1 T2OI international. His international debut came against Zimbabwe on 19th July 2015. He scored 19 runs in that match. He also led Board President XI side tour match against Sri Lanka.
He has also played in India A squad for quite some time. Sanju Samson is a hard-hitting batsman who can destroy any bowling attack on its day.
In this year’s Ranji Trophy edition, the young dashing batsman contributed important runs at number 4 and helped Kerala win matches with his power hitting. He played 6 matches (10 innings) and scored 577 runs with an average of 57.70. Sanju is in the top 10 leading run-getters during the league stage. His best score was 175* against Saurashtra in 180 balls which helped Kerala to declare their innings on 411 for 6. Kerala then bowled Saurashtra for a paltry 95.
He scored 2 centuries and 3 half-centuries during the 6 matches he played in the league stage. Sanju Samson has also done well while wicketkeeping skills. With the quarterfinals stage coming up against Vidarbha, Samson will play a key role with the bat to help Kerala to reach the semi-finals.
Sanju Samson has been a consistent performer in the Indian Premier League for Rajasthan Royals and also for Delhi Daredevils. If he continues to perform well, Samson could be selected in the Indian national squad for the T20 series against Sri Lanka.
Sanju Samson in this year’s Ranji Trophy for Kerala
Matches 6, Innings 10, Runs scored 577, HS- 175, Average-57.70, 100’s-2, 50’s-2.