'Felt unbelievably surreal for a 14-year-old' - Sanju Samson talks about family sacrifices & KKR trials in early years of his career

Sanju Samson talked about the sacrifices his parents made during the initial years of his cricketing career, which have shaped him into the player he is today. The wicketkeeper-batter is widely regarded as one of India's best batters in T20Is following his heroics at the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he was declared Player of the Tournament.

Samson understood that the sacrifices his father and mother made should not go in vain. The right-handed batter, therefore, always wanted to do his best to make sure his parents' efforts count for something, giving him a source of responsibility from a young age. That is why he was always disappointed when he got a low score when he started applying his trait in cricket.

"We loved our routine, morning practice, go to school, rush back, and train again. At that age, it made us feel like we were doing something meaningful. Our peers at school and the academy respected us for it. They saw how hard we worked, and that respect pushed us even more. Even as a kid, there was always a quiet pressure in the back of my mind. When you see your father shift his entire world for you, and your mother sacrifice her sleep every day, you realise you can't take a single day off," Sanju Samson said on JioStar.

"That is why getting out for 30 or 40 and then going home and telling my dad that I got out for 30 felt a bit heavy. But looking back, that environment brought the best out of me. While my friends played for fun, I walked onto the field with one goal, to make my parents proud and make their sacrifices count. That is what kept me focused at such a young age," he added.

Samson also recalled the time when his underage coach, Biju George, took him to trials with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The wicketkeeper stated that he was awestruck when he saw Sourav Ganguly and John Buchanan in the flesh before he turned 15. He also acknowledges the contribution Biju George made during his early years, when he opened opportunities for him which he would otherwise not have received.

"After I went on to perform well for Kerala in the Under-13 tournament, Biju sir took me all the way to the Kolkata Knight Riders selection trials when I was just 14 years old. That felt unbelievably surreal for a 14-year-old. Sourav Ganguly sir was the captain of KKR at the time, and John Buchanan was the head coach. I gave my trials in front of them, and based on that performance, they selected me to be a part of the KKR 'B' team during that period. We even got to travel to Sri Lanka for matches with the 'B' team. Biju sir continuously opened doors and created opportunities for us, so the credit for shaping the early stages of my career will always, unconditionally, go to him," he added.

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It is worth remembering that KKR were Samson's first Indian Premier League team, joining them in 2012, the year when they won their maiden title. The Kerala batter, however, did not play a single game and joined the Rajasthan Royals a year later.