India’s Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and four other youngsters – Nitish Rana, Chetan Sakariya, K Gowtham and Rahul Chahar – made their ODI debuts on Friday. India face Sri Lanka in a dead rubber match at Colombo, having won the series already. 

Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson, seen as a protege on Indian legend Rahul Dravid, finally got an ODI call-up after having made his international debut in 2015. The 26-year-old did not play the first two games of the series after he suffered a knee ligament injury during a training session. However, Samson, who came out to bat when skipper Dhawan was dismissed in the third over will be expected to make a big impact in his first 50-over game for the country. 

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Everything to know about Sanju Samson:

Hailing from Kerala, Samson is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has demonstrated sound technique and power. He made his First-Class debut at the age of 17 for Kerala against Vidarbha. He was signed by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2012 after his impressive domestic performances but did not get a game. It was for the Rajasthan Royals that Samson made a name for himself in the IPL. He flourished under Dravid’s guidance. Samson’s IPL statistics, 2861 in 110 innings, don’t do justice to the way he has dominated the best bowlers in the elite T20 competition. Samson scored a hundred on his captaincy debut in the IPL. 

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Sanju Samson represented India in the U-19 World Cup, UAE. He was the country’s top run-getter and the only player in the side to hit three fifties.

Samson was picked for the Zimbabwe tour in 2015. He made his first appearance for India in a T20 game, where he scored 19.

The youngster was picked by the Delhi Daredevils in the 2016 IPL auctions. With Dravid as the coach, Samson finished as the third-highest run-scorer for his team. He returned to Rajasthan in 2018 and was made captain in 2021.