Sanju Samson Biography: Sanju Viswanath Samson, First Rajasthan Royals captain to score an IPL century.
Most of them know Sanju by his name but doesn’t know about his story so in this article you’ll get to know about his story.
Personal Overview
| Full Name | Sanju Viswanath Samson |
| Date of Birth | 11 November 1994 |
| Age: | 31 years (as of early 2026) |
| Birthplace | Pulluvila, a coastal village near Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. |
| Height: | 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Role: | Right-handed Wicket-keeper,batter |
| Education: | Attended Rosary Senior Secondary School in Delhi. |
| Estimated Net Worth: | ₹80-86 crore |
| Teams: | Kerala, Chennai Super Kings, India U19, India A, |
Early Stage
Samson was born on 11 November 1994 into a Malayali Christian family in Pulluvila, a coastal village near Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.
His father,Viswanath Samson was formerly a police constable at Delhi Police.
And a retired football player who has represented Delhi in Santhosh Trophy.
And His mother, Ligy Viswanath is a housewife.
His elder brother Saly Samson has represented Kerala in junior cricket and currently works in the AG’s office.
Samson spent his early childhood in the Police residential colony in North Delhi neighbourhood of GTB Nagar and studied at Rosary Senior Secondary School, Delhi.
He was trained under coach Yashpal at the academy in DL DAV Model School, Shalimar Bagh.
When he didn’t make it into the Delhi U13 team for Dhruv Pandove Trophy.
His father took voluntary retirement from the Delhi police force; a year after he retired from football and moved to Kerala, where Samson and his brother continued their cricketing careers.
In Kerala, he attended Masters Cricket Club in Thiruvananthapuram before changing academies to train under Biju George on Medical College Ground, Thiruvananthapuram.
Samson graduated high school from St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthapuram.
He pursued a B.A. degree in English literature from Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram.
Youth and Domestic Career
Samson was a member of the U-13 cricket team of Kerala in 2007.
In the KSCA Inter-State under-13 tournament, he captained Kerala and bagged the player of the tournament award scoring 973 runs.
Including four centuries in five matches at an average of 108.11.
As a member of Kerala U-16 team for the 2008–09 Vijay Merchant Trophy, he scored a double century off 138 balls against Goa.
And finished the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer with 498 runs including two centuries and two fifties.
He was also the captain of Kerala in U-16 and U-19 levels.
He earned a spot in the India U-19 team that played the 2012 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup held in Malaysia in June 2012.
He was named vice-captain of India U-19 team for the 2013 Top End Under-19 Series in Australia in June 2013.
He scored two half-centuries in India U-19’s Youth Test series against Sri Lanka held from July to August 2013.
In the 2013 ACC Under 19 Asia cup in UAE, he scored a century in the final against Pakistan, helping India retain the cup.
In January 2014, BCCI appointed Sanju as vice-captain of team India for the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
He was the top run-scorer for India in the tournament with a highest score of 85 runs from 45 balls against Papua New Guinea.
A double-century in the 2008-09 Vijay Merchant Trophy made his way to the Kerala squad for the 2009–10 Ranji Trophy.
He was the youngest Kerala cricketer(14) to be selected to play in Ranji Trophy.
He scored his maiden first-class century against Himachal Pradesh in the 2012-13 Ranji Trophy.
He was named in the Kerala squad for the 2009–10 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy the same year.
He was Kerala’s highest run-getter in 2013-14 Ranji Trophy season scoring 530 runs at an average of 58.88.
In his first match of the 2013–14 season against Assam he scored a career-best 211 to bring up his first double century in Ranji Trophy.
He scored his second first-class double century in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy.
He scored his second first-class double century in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy.
Samson was appointed as the captain of Kerala for the 2015–16 Ranji Trophy season.
He is the youngest (20) Kerala player to captain the state in Ranji Trophy.
He began the season with a ton but failed to convert it into a successful season.
Samson was the leading run-scorer for Kerala in the 2017–18 Ranji Trophy, with 627 runs from seven matches.
In October 2019, during the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy match between Kerala and Goa.
It was the second-fastest double hundred and the fastest by an Indian in the format.
It was also the highest total made by a wicket-keeper in a List-A match with an unbeaten 212 runs from 129 balls.
In July 2015, he was selected into the Indian squad against Zimbabwe for an ODI and two T20I matches.
He made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe at Harare on 19 July 2015.
In June 2022, he was named in India’s squad for their T20I series against Ireland.
In the second match of the series, he scored his maiden half century in T20I.
In July 2022, he was named in India’s ODI squad for their away series against the West Indies.
He scored his maiden ODI half-century in the second match of the series.
On 30 November 2023, he was selected in India’s squad for the 3 match ODI series against South Africa.
He scored his maiden hundred in the third ODI of the series.
On 30 April 2024, he was selected in India’s 15 member Squad for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to be held in USA and West Indies which they won.
In October 2024, he was named in India’s squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.
In the third match of the series, he scored his maiden T20I century.
He was also selected for the 4 match T20I series in South Africa tour.
In which he scored 2 tons in the series and set Mutilple Records.
Currently Sanju has been named for 2026 T20 World Cup Squad.
IPL
Samson was named by Kolkata Knight Riders in its player pool ahead of 2009 Indian Premier League.
He was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of 2012 Indian Premier League but did not get to play and was released ahead of the 2013 season.
He was signed to play for Rajasthan Royals in 2013 and made his debut against Kings 11 Punjab.
He became the youngest to score a half century in IPL.
He won the Emerging Player award of 2013 season with 206 runs and six stumpings from 10 innings.
In 2016,He was signed by Delhi Captails, After Rajasthan was banned from the competition for two years after being found guilty in illegal betting and match-fixing probe.
He scored his maiden T20 century against Rising Pune Supergiants during the 2017 Indian Premier League.
He returned to Rajasthan in the 2018 IPL auction.
In January 2021, Samson was named the captain of Rajasthan Royals ahead of the 2021 Indian Premier League.
He scored a century in his first match as captain, becoming the first IPL captain to achieve the feat.
In 2023, he played as a captain of Rajasthan Royals and scored 362 runs with 3 half centuries in season and finished 5th on points table.
In 2024, Rajasthan Royals won 8 matches out of their first 9 matches under his leadership.
He individually scored 531 runs out of 16 matches with 5 half centuries, which is considered the best season for him.
In 2025 he only played few matches for Rajasthan Royals in this Season.
On November 15 2025, Sanju was Traded to Chennai Super Kings Ahead of IPL 2026.
Records
Fastest T20I century by an Indian – 100 vs Bangladesh (2024)
First Indian wicket-keeper to score a T20I century
Only Indian with 3 T20I centuries (as of 2024–25)
Highest individual T20I score by an Indian keeper – 111*
Consecutive T20I hundreds.
Youngest IPL captain (Rajasthan Royals, 2021)
First Rajasthan Royals captain to score an IPL century
Highest individual score by RR captain – 119
Most runs in a season for RR as captain.
Highest run-getter for Rajasthan Royals (all-time)
Highest individual List-A score for Kerala.
Led Kerala to historic domestic tournament qualifications.
Multiple centuries across Vijay Hazare Trophy & SMAT.
Personal Life
Sanju married his long-time girlfriend Charulatha Remesh, a Hindu and a native of Thiruvananthapuram, in 2018.
The couple met at Mar Ivanios College.
The wedding took place in a private ceremony at Kovalam.
Their marriage was registered under the Special Marriage Act.
