India international Sanju Samson recalled the time when Rahul Dravid broke the news of his call-up at Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Samson did exceptionally well during the trials organized by captain Dravid and Rajasthan Royals’ Head of Cricket Zubin Bharucha.
Subsequently, during the 2013 season, Samson made his IPL debut and became an integral part of the Royals’ lineup.
During the two-year ban on Royals, Samson featured for Delhi Daredevils, under Dravid again, before returning to the Jaipur-based franchise in the mega-auctions of 2018.
“Rahul bhai and Zubin Bharucha (RR Head of Cricket) were taking trials for Rajasthan Royals,” Samson told Ish Sodhi in RR’s podcast.
“I played a really good knock there, at the end of the second day, Rahul bhai came to me and asked ‘Would you play for my team?’ It was like a dream for me, to have Rahul bhai come and ask me to play for him,” the wicketkeeper-batsman recalled.
At RR, Samson got the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the greats of the game namely Shane Watson, and Brad Hodge. The Kerala star also revealed about still being in touch with the Australian legends.
“At the IPL also I didn’t play the first six games. I would always talk to him and other senior players like (Shane) Watson, (Brad) Hodge and learn from them. Even today if I call him and ask for help, he’s always there to help me,” added Samson.
Further, Samson talked about MS Dhoni being his role model, due to his composure under pressure. Samson concluded by sharing his experience in the Indian team, playing with the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Samson got his opportunity to don the national jersey during the T20I series against New Zealand earlier this year, where he was sent in to face the Super Over in one of the matches.
