Last Updated:
Sanju Samson made his debut for India a decade back, but it surely was just after MS Dhoni’s retirement five years ago that he began getting regular opportunities for the national side.
Sanju Samson has spoken highly of MS Dhoni (Picture credit: AFP)
India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has said that each time the Rajasthan Royals played against the Chennai Super Kings, he wanted to take a seat and discuss with former India captain MS Dhoni, admitting to his heartfelt admiration for the latter.
Samson made his debut for India a decade back, but it surely was just after Dhoni’s retirement five years ago that he began getting regular opportunities for the national side.
Samson said that his relationship with Dhoni strengthened after winning the Player of the Match award during a match in Sharjah five years back, adding that he desired to spend as much time as he could around Dhoni each time their respective sides faced off in IPL.
“Like every young Indian cricketer, I at all times desired to be around MS Dhoni. Each time we played against CSK, I wanted to take a seat and discuss with him, ask him how he does things. It was a dream for me,” Samson said while speaking on JioHotstar.
“I remember playing a match against CSK in Sharjah, where I finally performed well, scored around 70-80 runs, won the sport and have become the Man of the Match. After that, I met Mahi bhai and since then, our relationship has grown,” Samson said.
“Just yesterday, I met him again. It’s truly a blessed feeling- to go from idolising him to now sitting with him for shoots and events. I feel like I’m living my dream,” Samson added.
Dhoni, who might be playing in IPL 2025 for Chennai under the brand new skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, continues to be an enormous influence on young cricketers.
On the IPL 2025 mega-auction, Samson’s Rajasthan bought Jofra Archer for a whopping Rs 12.5 crore. Additionally they purchased Tushar Deshpande for Rs 6.5 crore.
Earlier, Rajasthan had retained Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma.
