The Adopted Son: How Sanju Samson became Chennai’s ‘Chettan’

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu and Kerala are like inseparable best friends.

Go to any tea stall around Tamil Nadu, there is a very good chance that you will find them together – often having a chat about anything and everything under the sun. But mostly, having conversations around cinemas, about Lalettan (Mohanlal), Mammukka (Mammootty) or Superstar Rajinikanth.

Kerala hardly had any demigods that they could look up to when it came to cricket, it often revolved around football, where the state still has a stronghold in the country. However, everything changed when one certain, Sanju Samson, entered the fray.

When he was just 12, the signs that Samson was going to become an eventual superstar were in writing but it has taken another 19 years to transpire into reality. Instead of just Kerala shouting his name, he ensured that during all these years, he has created a brand for himself in his own ‘silent way’ around the country, be it in the freezing colds of Dharamsala or the sultry heat of Visakhapatnam.

However, if you ask Samson, he would tell you there are a couple of venues in the country which are close to his heart: Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Earlier in the year, Samson scored a dazzling 42-ball 89 in the semi-final against England at the Wankhede, where the crowd were chanting his name, which gained a special appreciation in his heart.

And the other, why?

Let me take you through a journey, cast your mind back in 2022, when he was still uncertain in his Indian limited-overs setup. He was still plying and trying to prove his prowess with the Indian ‘A’ setup in the three-match unofficial ODI series against New Zealand. And the venue for the first clash – Chepauk – where thousands of fans flocked the stadium to just catch a glimpse of their ‘Chettan’.

In a game that had some of the bigger names in Indian cricket at that point, the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav, crowd flocked in huge numbers just to watch Samson, as if he was one of their own. Just his entry into the pitch was enough to warrant the entire stadium to break its character, and go rowdy, chanting his name as if their lives depended on it.

Mind you, it was a game where there wasn’t any official ticketing but still it didn’t deter the fans from flocking to the venue, cheering for their Chettan, who gave them a brief glimpse into the future – a 32-ball 29, with one four and three sixes. Over the course of the next week, it had become a regular thing at Chepauk, fans cheered, and the Kerala batter obliged with some breathtaking shots. It was almost like it was written in the stars that Samson and CSK would become a thing.

But for the trade to happen, there were a few steps in the way.

First step of the trade: mutual admiration.

Now, the second step required persuasion, one that required CSK and Rajasthan Royals to be on the same page, which was eventually possible after the five-time IPL winners traded two of their fan favourites – Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.

The third step: the trade to happen.

Once these three steps were done, there was one big litmus test, and that was whether the former RR skipper, who averaged well below poor at the Chepauk, could turn his fortunes around. Given that the CSK faithful were already angry at the franchise for moving away from their Thalapathy, Jadeja.

Three games into the season, it felt like RR greatly benefited from the trade, as the Kerala batter had scores of 6, 7 and 9. The casuals had already written him off, and the fans also slowly began to wonder whether it was a costly mistake, given his lack of input from behind the sticks.

But then what transpired over the next two weeks is pure Sanju magic, which even turned the non-CSK fans into flaunting their yellow jersey, and cheering on for Chetta in front of their television. Samson began his turnaround with a casual 115* against Delhi Capitals, where he was ably helped by the young gun, Ayush Mhatre.

However, at the Wankhede, he was alone. Literally, one man army, as he went through the ebbs and flows of a T20 game, the highs of the powerplay, followed the mids of the middle overs which ultimately turned into another high at the death, where he masterfully crafted his century against arguably the best bowler in T20 history, Jasprit Bumrah.

If the ball was wide outside off, the batter guided the ball through the gap between the point region and the third man region for boundaries. When MI’s inexperienced Kris Bhagat erred in his lines, bowling full tosses and short balls, the 31-year-old didn’t hold himself back, putting them where they deserved to the boundary ropes, and on some occasions, beyond.

What was even more interesting was the fact that Samson is now showing his cricketing IQ more often than not. Had he tried to take on the Mumbai bowlers earlier than he did, CSK could have ended up with a below-par total at the Wankhede. It is that IQ which CSK lacked over the last few years, and it is that IQ which really took the Super Kings to 207/6 – a score that was way beyond MI’s reach at the end of the night.

Over the last several years, CSK have desperately tried to find a suitable understudy for their talismanic skipper, MS Dhoni. While they have tried to groom several cricketers into fitting that role, including Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja, and now Gaikwad, they hadn’t still found that perfect match.

But with Samson, the feeling is different. Culturally, rationally, and even cricket-ally, Chettan and CSK, are a match made in heaven.