Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Rohit Sharma is hailed by fans and experts for his selflessness and desire to put the team ahead of personal milestones. Another Indian cricketer who adopts the same attitude in all aspects of the game is none other than Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson, as evident from an anecdote shared by former India pacer Tinu Yohanan.
“Sanju was in poor form during the 2021/22 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I advised him that he would be able to get a big score if he faces a certain number of deliveries. Sanju said, ‘That is not the kind of player I am. I won’t play for myself in any scenario’,” said Yohanan, who was the head coach of the Kerala cricket team at that point, during an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.
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The former Indian pacer further highlighted Samson’s desire to win at any cost as evident from his approach and mentality while leading Kerala in a Ranji Trophy group stage match against Rajasthan back in December 2022.
“We were handed a daunting target of 395 runs in the second innings with the conditions quite bowler-friendly. While most captains attempt to go for a safety-first approach, Samson emphasised on looking to chase down the target. He set an example for the rest of the team, scoring 69 runs off 53 balls. We eventually finished pretty close to the target, scoring 299 runs which seemed pretty daunting before the chase began,” said Yohanan.

“Sanju is the ultimate team man and has gone out of his way on many occasions to defend his teammates. Players like Salman Nizar and Mohammed Azharuddeen, who impressed during the recently concluded edition of the Ranji Trophy, got quality support from him when they were struggling. Sanju has always been very approachable and generous,” he added.