New Delhi: April 8, 2008 Sanzhou SamsonA skinny 14-year-old boy was in a hotel room on his bed and stared at Brendan MacCallum Kolkata Knight Riders scored an explosive 158 off just 73 deliveries against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their maiden IPL match.
That night of rain in the central Kerala town of Kottayam changed his life forever.
Three weeks changed his career ambitions from pursuing IAS to professional cricket for the prestigious world.
“Sanju always remembers that day and it made him dream of one day reaching the top league,” said former Kerala player Rafi Vincent Gomez, Sanju’s close friend. .
But this is not enough to be on top of career especially in sports or even having a dream alone.
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Biju George, former fielding coach of Indian women’s cricket team and who initially mentored some Kerala players saw bright fire flickering inside Sanju.
“No matter what weather conditions were like, Sanju and his younger brother Saly would take down the net at medical college grounds Thiruvananthapuram. One day it was raining heavily and I thought maybe Sanju wouldn’t pick up the net from his medical college at Vizhinjam. Just come home and collect the net which is almost around twenty five kilometers away from city center.
“But he came right on time; this (cricket) kit bag with him stuffed also with school uniform so that after practice he should be able to go to school- at least”, George added . He was as determined as any child could be. Even in those days George remembered his determination was much higher than most boys his age.
Maybe this self-discipline comes out from his family background. His father Viswanath who had played football for Delhi Police over the past two decades was very supportive of his son’s dreams.
Delhi Police’s Sanju and his brother would spread out their nets, even playing against those cricketers much older than them.
“His dad was a great inspiration to him from the time I first met him, in his junior cricket days. He would never fail to come for Sanju’s matches,” Gomez added.
However, being raised at GTB Nagar police station of North Delhi kept Sanju grounded.
Sanju is a modern sportsman through and through – he is active on social media platforms, hangs around with Malayalam movie stars and politicians, while using his image for promoting many products too but fame has not gotten into his head. “Shamzou has managed to stay down-to-earth till now which instantly strikes a chord with people across the country,” he said.
A look at Sanju’s X account confirms this fact. Sanju is an athlete who travels all over the world; his location says ‘Kerala’ and profile picture shows Vizhinjam port’s silhouette.
“Well you know Kerala has given us some excellent athletes like P.T Usha etc., Look, I am not blaming them but sometimes a Keralite doesn’t take well to it when they do certain things in public like their conversation or tone.”
“Sanju is not the same. He still hangs around with the same folks, Nicholas (his current boss) or Rahul Raghav, as he used to do in his early years before fame. Even now he goes to the local market dressed in shorts and booties.
“There is no star aura surrounding him. He’s that one person everybody would like to have as a son or brother at home. You know he has retained the image of ‘Nammude Sanju’ (our Sanju),” he explained.
Possibly it’s only IM Vijayan, the footballer who can shake up fans in a state.
“Vijayan was a superstar in his playing days but remained rooted in his hometown Thrissur. While progressing through ranks, Sanju stayed put in Thiruvananthapuram and Kerala…. The state likes this hero stays local and Sanju will be an ideal choice.”
In Kerala’s socio-cultural milieu, Sanju may have grown into an affable cult hero; for his teammates however, the 29-year-old is their elder brother.
“Sanju chettan was always approachable. Many times, he would be absent due to national obligations or some IPL commitments, but he was just a phone call away.
“If he doesn’t play; then later on calls us to find out what happened during that match. He never misses any team schedules,” said Rohan Kunnummel.
George highlighted that passion for state cricket across three states.
“We talked few minutes after he got drafted into the league T20 World Cup. However, what interested him more was when I spoke about how important it is for Kerala to win one cup atleast during the forthcoming domestic season.”
“He said … if we could achieve some success nationally more kids would take up cricket”, said George.
However some young ones might have taken cue from Sanjus example back then in that hotel room sixteen years ago.
