Sanju Samson's cricket adventure started when he was five years old. In this 2022 interview, he reflected on his journey. ๐
๐ฅ : Oaktree Sports.
๐ฅ : Oaktree Sports.
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00:00It's a big deal that you reached for the wedding yourself.
00:02Rahul Chahar's wedding is over now.
00:06He was supposed to be here in the fitness camp.
00:08He had to miss this and go and attend his own wedding, actually.
00:21I remember I went to play in New Zealand.
00:24Rohit bhai was there. Virat bhai was leading the team.
00:27You don't know whom to approach or whom to talk to.
00:31Rohit bhai said, let's have dinner.
00:33I said, okay, let's go.
00:35All these guys were there. Rishabh was there and Shardul was there.
00:39He had that 5-6. He lives in Kuldeep.
00:42So, 5-6 people. All of them are younger than him.
00:45We used to take them with us.
00:46We used to say, you tell us what you want to eat.
00:48He used to say, eat this and that.
00:51It was very nice of him.
00:52Didn't you have some Delhi samosas?
00:54I love Delhi's Aloo Paratha and Chole Bhature.
00:58So, you had tea in the evening. What about dinner?
01:00We'll have to have a light dinner. We have training tomorrow morning.
01:02Yes, it's the last day.
01:05Your dad was a policeman.
01:07Yes, he was a Delhi policeman.
01:08My dad used to say, you started playing cricket at the age of 5-6.
01:12At the age of 5-6?
01:13Yes, at the age of 5-6.
01:16My brother and I used to play there.
01:18You were smaller than the kid back then.
01:21My dad was in the football team.
01:23He used to go to work or night duty.
01:28But he used to practice and train in the morning.
01:31I remember that he was on duty in Feroz Shah Kotla.
01:35There was a match.
01:37He took us to practice in the nets.
01:40When we were 6-7 years old.
01:42I don't remember.
01:44He used to say, I took you to practice in Kotla when you were 6-7 years old.
01:48Your first practice was with a leather ball.
01:50There is a lot of competition in Delhi.
01:52Cricket is played in every corner.
01:55We tried a couple of times, but it didn't work out.
01:58My dad used to say, you belong to Kerala.
02:02We'll play from there.
02:03So, suddenly we shifted.
02:05In one month's time, we left school and came to Kerala.
02:09We had a lot of fun in Delhi.
02:11We played cricket a lot.
02:12We played in school, here and there.
02:14We became good friends.
02:16But you don't remember, right?
02:17If you've seen a cricketer, you don't remember at that age.
02:19I remember. I was with Nitish Rana.
02:22I went to trials with Nitish Rana.
02:24I went to trials in my under-13s.
02:26I saw Gautam there.
02:28Gautam used to practice in a place called LB Shastri.
02:33I used to come there sometimes.
02:36He used to be very focused.
02:38We used to watch him while batting.
02:40He used to say, Gautam, look at my shot.
02:42Gautam will stay here.
02:43I think like that.
02:45You're saying, Gautam, look at my shot.
02:48Rahul saw that, right?
02:50Rahul sir?
02:52He saw that.
02:54It was the heart beating fast.
02:56I'm sure.
02:58It was on a different level.
03:00That day was one of the most special moments of my life.
03:04I batted there for two days.
03:06I've never batted like that before or after that.
03:09I used to say, what a shot!
03:11Rahul Singh?
03:12I think that kept on pumping me up.
03:14That was really a magic for me.
03:17I think we all had that kind of an experience with Rahul Dravid
03:20to go and learn from him.
03:21He was there at your wedding also.
03:23Yeah, he came.
03:24It was a very special moment for my whole family.
03:28Yeah. Because nowadays,
03:29if anybody gets married,
03:31especially if you're playing in the team and you get married,
03:34your colleagues, your friends can't come
03:37because they've been playing cricket for 12 months.
03:39It's a big deal that you're there for the wedding.
03:43Rahul Chahar's wedding is over now.
03:47He was supposed to be here in the fitness camp.
03:49He had to miss this and go and attend his own wedding.