What if Wednesday | What if Sanju Samson was retained by KKR in 2013

Sanju Samson was part of the KKR squad in 2012 but they decided to part ways with the youngster without making him play. Fortunately for the youngster, in 2013, he was signed by the Rajasthan-based outfit and made his debut in the IPL on 13 April 2013, as the regular wicket-keeper Dishant Yagnik failed to recover from the injury. On the back of some stunning performances for the franchise, he was named ‘Emerging player of the year’ in his debut season, cementing his place in the team and staking a claim to be in India’s limited-overs team. But, what if KKR had decided to retain Samson?

His fantastic debut makes him regular on the team sheet, but that didn’t aid to their fortunes, as they continue to be out of the top 4. But the best of Samson is yet to be seen this season, as he clinically plunders RCB bowlers for 63 off 41 balls, winning the game for KKR in a low scoring affair. With this, he also becomes the youngest player to score a fifty in IPL and is awarded Man of the Match for his match-winning innings. Later, he makes a useful 25 against Pune Warriors but KKR ends up losing the match. Winning just 6 matches out of 16, KKR couldn’t qualify for the knockouts, but they have their silver lining in the form of Samson, who won the ‘Emerging Player of the Year’ award for his brilliant knocks. 

Come to the 2014 edition of IPL, Manoj Tiwary plays second fiddle to rising Samson. Slotted at number 5, Samson becomes one of the highest run-getter for KKR, with his most brilliant knock coming against SRH in the final league match, where he was the top run-getter with 74 runs, taking his team over the ropes. He performs well in the knockouts as well as scored a crucial 35 in the final to seal the second title for KKR. Such a wonderful season ending with the title makes him one of the prospects of the Indian team, but due to the unavailability of any slot for him, he couldn’t quite make his entry into the team. 

The 2015 season turns out average for both KKR and Samson as the defending champions couldn’t even qualify for the knockouts and apart from a clinical 76 off 46 balls against Mumbai, Samson endures a sub-par season according to his standards, scoring runs at an average of 20.40 and a strike rate of 125.15. However, Gautam trusts the youngster and includes him in his plans for next season as well. Meanwhile, Samson is included in the squad to Zimbabwe, where he made his debut for the national side at Harare. Although he gets out cheaply in his debut match, he did play 2 beautiful cover drives to display his elegance at the international level, which wasn't enough to cement his place in the senior team. 

Things started changing dramatically for the Keralite as he gets inducted into the leadership group of the franchise. He no longer remains just a youngster in the team and now has responsibilities and expectations of his team-mates. Samson takes the change in his role in the team in his stride and scores his first IPL century against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. He looks like a different beast as he scores runs at a strike rate 141.39, giving nightmare to opposition bowlers. His particular innings against Delhi, where he scores 75 off 38 balls, blew everyone away, taking his team home in a close match that almost went Delhi’s way. However, despite Samson performing to his full potential, KKR couldn’t qualify for the knockouts as they could win only 6 matches out of 14. 

Samson continues to score runs for fun later in the year in the Ranji Trophy as well as he becomes the highest run-scorer for Kerala with 627 runs. Gambhir decides to bid farewell to KKR and impressed by the Kerala man,  the franchise makes Samson their skipper as he becomes the youngest captain in IPL. Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik moves to Mumbai Indians to bring balance to their side, however, his game time reduces quite significantly compared to Gujarat Lions as he has to compete with Ishan Kishan and Aditya Tare for a place in the squad. He rises to the occasion in the fifth match of the season and scores 63 off 43 balls to make himself a fixed wicket-keeper in the squad. 

Samson becomes the face of the franchise and his selection in the national team looks inevitable. Selectors are able to identify this purple patch and include him in the 50-over side for the Asia Cup. Batting at number 4, he showed great determination and technical class to justify his selection. His highest score comes in the first match itself as he scores 60 runs against Hong Kong, cementing his place in the playing XI. In the rest of the five matches he plays, he remains not out on two occasions with the scores of 31 and 12. Although he has a decent run in the tournament, he gets out for 2 in the final match against Bangladesh, but India ends up winning the match through the last ball heroics of Kedar Jadhav.

India’s number 4 worries seem to be over as the youngster takes up the responsibility with great ease. He is then included in the series against West Indies, where he scores his first hundred in the fourth match, clearing any doubt if there was one regarding his abilities. Having performed well in the recent past, he is included in the side to tour Australia and New Zealand, where again he shows his supremacy by scoring 90 at the Westpac Stadium against New Zealand. With the World Cup approaching, he is almost certain to play at number 4 in the team, averaging 47.06 in the 30 matches he played for the Men in Blue.

Good news finally comes for Samson as he is selected to play in his first World Cup. He starts the campaign on a high by scoring 62 in the second match against Australia. In the upcoming matches, Samson doesn’t get to bat much as he is dropped down the order to give Rishabh Pant a go at number 4. However, the move didn’t bear any fruits for Kohli as Pant fails to impress. Meanwhile, Samson plays a couple of not outs against West Indies and England. Kohli realized his mistake and reinstates Samon at four for the semi-final against New Zealand. The right-hander plays a sensible knock in the semi-final after India lost early wickets to take his team home, scoring 60 not out off 55 balls. England defeated Australia in the other semi-final to cement their clash against India in the final.  

Come the final against England, India is tasked to chase a target of 242. Samson with a habit to rise on big occasions scores 105 not out to take India over the ropes. He is named Man of the Match for his brilliant century. While collecting the trophy, Kohli moves out of the way to let Samson lift the trophy, who lifts the third World Cup trophy for India.