Sanju Samson: The Malayali Superstar CSK Needs to Reignite Glory?

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association media committee suddenly has a new challenge ahead of Chennai Super Kings’ first home game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on April 3. They are flooded with requests from journalists in Kerala — who have never come to IPL games before — for accreditation.

And it’s all because of one player — Sanju Samson. The Thiruvananthapuram boy, who will be donning CSK colours for the first time, has generated a sense of frenzy both in Chennai and Kerala that one might not have expected after the underwhelming couple of seasons for the yellow brigade.




While taking over from an icon like MS Dhoni as the No. 1 superstar of a team with a massive following has its own pull, the fact that he is a Malayali has added a new twist to the narrative.

Chennai is teeming with Malayalis — the city has the highest population of the community in a metropolitan area outside Kerala. According to the 2011 census, 7.7 lakh Malayalis live in Tamil Nadu — most of them around Chennai — and the number has significantly increased over the past 15 years.

They are entrenched in the city’s social and cultural fabric, but their presence in Tamil Nadu’s cricket structure has been comparatively lower. Of course, there have been Malayali cricketers playing in the local league, with a few going on to play for the state as well, but there hasn’t been one breakout star. But with Sanju set to become CSK’s biggest star recruit — for whom they let go of Ravindra Jadeja — the Malayalis now have “our boy playing for CSK”.

Take banker Arun Sajeev, for example. He is from Kerala, an ardent cricket fan, and has been living in the city for the past 5 years. But he and his group of friends have been supporters of Rajasthan Royals till now.

All that changed in one stroke — Sanju’s decision to join CSK. “All of us, who used to support RR, are now CSK fans. After Sanju was roped in by CSK during the IPL trade window, we all followed the auction with the hope that CSK would have the best team. Sanju hasn’t won the IPL yet, and we’re hoping that he will win it this time,” Arun told TOI.

He explained how his friends from Chennai and Bengaluru are already looking for tickets for CSK’s first home game at Chepauk. “We don’t want to miss it. It will be quite an occasion,” he said.

Sanju — Chettan to his fans — is coming to CSK on the back of a superb T20 World Cup, where he played three match-winning innings in the last three games. His return to CSK, though, was finalized a few months ago when the franchise decided to make a few changes to the team and bring about a fresh attacking mindset.

By his own admission, once Sanju decided to leave Rajasthan Royals, he was flooded with offers from other franchises. But once the CSK offer came, he didn’t think twice and decided to take it up.

It had a lot to do with his connection with the city. The 31-year-old speaks Tamil, has been coming to the city since he was 10, is a big Rajinikath fan, and is an ardent follower of Dhoni.

“I have spoken to Mahi bhai over the phone and interacted with him. Playing with him on a team will be great. I see it as an opportunity to learn from him … whenever he calls or we meet, there is always something positive to take away. But being with him in a team for two months and seeing first-hand how he approaches cricket and prepares for games will be a huge benefit for me,” Sanju said about his Dhoni before coming to Chennai to turn out for CSK.

On Sunday, in the fan event that was organized by the franchise at MAC, the biggest cheers after Dhoni were reserved for Sanju, as he batted against former CSK great Muttiah Muralitharan.

As Sanju promises to “hit many sixes for CSK”, fans are preparing to embrace him with open arms. N R Panicker, president of the Malayali Club in Chennai, insists that Sanju isn’t just a Malayali star, he is a national icon after what he did in the T20 World Cup. “Yes, once the IPL starts, we will be looking to invite him to our club. It will be a great moment for us if it happens. But having said that, we have always been CSK fans, there’s a lot of interest in our club when IPL takes place. With Sanju playing for CSK, there is a chance that the enthusiasm will be more,” said Panicker.

CSK, a five-time champion, have been starved of success for the last two years. Sanju knows how the fans are craving for it. And as Dhoni moves on, it’s on the mild-mannered Malayali boy to build on this enthusiasm and make CSK the indomitable force that they once were.