Sanju Samson IPL 2021 performance with Rajasthan Royals

Sanju Samson is an Indian international cricketer who plays as a wicketkeeper-batter. He was born on 11 November 1994 in Vizhinjam, Kerala. He started playing cricket as a teenager in Delhi where his father was posted. Samson moved later to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala where he made his mark as a daring and skillful stroke player. Exploits of young Sanju Samson as a part of the Kerala team in various domestic tournaments are well documented. These include a century as the captain of the U-13 Kerala team in his debut match. Moving on to the national stage, he was made Vice-Captain of the U-19 Indian team for the 2014 World Cup. In that tournament, he was the highest scorer for India.

National selectors and IPL franchises soon took notice of Sanju Samson’s capabilities as a power stroke player. For the T-20 internationals, he has been included as part of the Indian squad for many series but did not get many chances in the playing eleven and whenever he did, he did not make a great impact. He however impressed with his fielding. On the other hand, he earned a good name for himself as an impact player in the IPL. He was mentored by Rahul Dravid in his initial years in IPL. Dravid also took him along to Delhi Daredevils when RR was banned for two years. Sanju Samson has been named as Captain of the Rajasthan Royals in 2021 and scored a century in his first game. He has completed 3000 runs in IPL during the match on  27 September 2021.

Sanju Samson IPL Profile

Sanju Samson IPL Career and Performance

Sanju Samson’s potential as a cricketer who would provide value for money was recognized by the IPL franchises when he was in his teens. He made his debut for Rajasthan Royals in Apr 2013 against Kings XI Punjab. A right-hand batter with strong forearms and good hand-eye coordination, he is not afraid to play his shots. He immediately made his mark by scoring 206 runs,11 innings, and becoming the youngest player in IPL to score a half-century. He won the Best Young Player award of the 2013 season. Maintaining his good form, he became the joint top scorer for RR in IPL 2014. As part of Delhi Daredevils, Sanju made his maiden IPL century during IPL 2016. For IPL 2017, he was the top scorer of the Delhi team.

Sanju Samson saw a major salary hike as he returned to Rajasthan Royals during the IPL auction in 2018 and repaid the faith placed in him by playing many memorable stroke-filled innings. He amassed 441 runs that year with an average of 31.5. He continued to remain an asset for RR with his batting and wicket-keeping in the subsequent years.  During IPL 2020 Sanju Samson became the second youngest cricketer to play 100 IPL matches. He was also RR’s top scorer in that year. He was elevated as captain of the Rajasthan team for IPL 2021.

Sanju Samson IPL Runs

Sanju Samson has scored 2292 runs in the 120 IPL matches. Remaining not out ten times his average score works out to close to 30. His overall strike rate is 134.39. Sanju’s most prolific year till 2020 was 2018, where he scored 441 runs at an average of 31.50. He is going to surpass those figures in IPL 2021. Here is a complete breakdown of his batting numbers:

Sanju Samson IPL Salary

Sanju Samson was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2012 for INR 8 lakhs. However, he was not fielded by them in that year. He joined Rajasthan Royals in 2013 with a slight hike. He made a mark during that year and his IPL salary jumped by several notches up to INR 4.0 crores. Yet another significant increase in his IPL salary was during the IPL auction 2018 when it almost doubled to reach INR 8.0 crores. His year-wise salary is given below:

Sanju Samson IPL Average

Sanju Samson in his IPL career has been part of the playing eleven in most of the matches for the two franchises he has played for since IPL 2013. He has hit three centuries, one of them unbeaten and 15 fifties. His overall batting average in the 120 matches he has played so far as part of the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils has been 29.49. He has hit a total of 236 boundaries to the ropes and 132 sixes. He has also been keeping wickets in most of the matches and has taken 59 catches and carried out 10 stumpings.

Sanju Samson IPL Batting

Sanju Samson has an aggressive temperament and has been counted among the top power hitters of the shortest format of the game. He bats right-handed, times the ball well, and is not afraid to lift the ball over the ropes. He has performed reliably for the two franchises he has played for in the IPL and has created many a first with his willow. These include the youngest IPL player to score a fifty, leading RR to the highest run chase in IPL history in 2020 scoring 85 off 42 balls, and the first player in IPL history to score a ton in his first outing as captain during IPL 21.  He was the top scorer for his team during three seasons, twice for RR and once for Delhi Daredevils.

Sanju Samson IPL Price

Sanju Samsons current IPL price for 2021 is INR 8 crores. It has seen two significant jumps during his IPL career. The first significant increase happened in 2014 after he had proved his mettle for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2013. In the IPL auction 2014, RR bid successfully for him for INR 4.0 crores. His IPL price took another upswing in 2018 to INR 8.0 crores when he re-joined Rajasthan Royals.

Sanju Samson IPL Played Teams

Sanju Samson was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for IPL 2012. He did not find a place in the playing eleven. On being released by KKR, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals in IPL auction in 2013 and made his IPL debut for this team on 14 April 2013. After that, he has never looked back and played for them in almost all the matches except for a two-year period when RR was banned from the competition. During this period 2016-2017, Samson had a stint with Delhi Daredevils. He returned to Rajasthan Royals during the IPL auction for IPL 2018 and has been named captain of the side for IPL 2021.

Sanju Samson with IPL trophy

Sanju Samson was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders team that won the trophy in 2012. They won by 5 wickets against Chennai Super Kings in the final. It was his first year in the IPL. He did not find a place in the team that year. He has not won the IPL since in his two-year stint with Delhi and the rest with Rajasthan Royals.

FAQs

How old is Sanju Samson?

Sanju Samson is 26 years old. He was born on 11 November 1994 in Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was born to Samson Viswanath and Ligy Samson in a Latin Catholic Malayali family. His father was a police constable and a retired football player while his mother was a housewife.

Read: Jasprit Bumrah IPL Performance with Mumbai Indians

Is Sanju Samson retired?

27-year-old Sanju Samson has many years of cricket left in him and is yet to announce his retirement from any format. He is going strong in the IPL and has notched up his highest total runs in IPL 2021. He also became the first IPL player to score a hundred in his first innings as captain.

Read: Hardik Pandya IPL Performance with Mumbai Indians

Is Sanju Samson a good player?

Sanju Samson is a batsman with natural talent. He has had great success in domestic tournaments and has many records to his credit. For the national side, he was included many times for the T20Is and ODIs. He, however, did not get a prolonged run of games. He did not deliver in the few chances he got. In the IPL, he has been the mainstay of Rajasthan Royals.

Read: Varun Chakravarthy IPL Performance With KKR

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