Sanju Viswanath Samson

Sanju Viswanath Samson is a right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman from Kerala, India. He plays for the Kerala cricket team, Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and T20Is for the Indian national team. He is appointed as the captain of Rajasthan Royals in IPL for the 2021 season.

Sanju spent his early childhood in Delhi and then moved to Thiruvananthapuram. He played some incredible innings for the Under-13 Kerala cricket team. He led the U-16 and U-19 teams of the state. Impressed with his superb performances, BCCI appointed him as the vice-captain of the Indian team for the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, where he emerged as the top-run scorer for the national side. Sanju made his international debut in a T20I match against Zimbabwe on 19^th July 2015.    

Sanju Samson's Achievements:-

• Sanju is the first IPL captain in history to score a century on his captaincy debut. He achieved the feat on April 12, 2021 in a match against Punjab Kings.
• In the 2019-20 season of Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored a double ton (212 runs from 129 balls) which was the fastest by an Indian in List A cricket. It was the highest individual total score made by a wicket-keeper in a List A match and the highest individual score in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
• With 627 runs in seven matches, he was the leading run-scorer for the Kerala side in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season.
• In the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season, he was appointed the captain of Kerala, becoming the youngest player to captain a Ranji team for an entire tournament.
• Second-youngest cricketer to score a fifty in the Indian Premier League (IPL) that he scored in 2013 at the age of 18 years 169 days against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
• On 21^st September 2013, Sanju became the youngest player to score a fifty in the Champions League T20 (CLT20), playing for Rajasthan Royals against Mumbai Indians.