Sanju Samson

Pulluvila, a coastal village near Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district, is where Sanju Viswanath Samson was born on 11 November 1994. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter, who plays T20 internationals for India, spent his early childhood in Delhi and began training there before the family moved back to Kerala. He studied English literature at Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, and captained Kerala at under-16 and under-19 level. His first-class debut for Kerala came in 2011, and he was vice-captain of India's under-19 side at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. He joined Rajasthan Royals for the 2013 IPL season and won the Emerging Player of the Year award. His T20I debut was against Zimbabwe in July 2015. An unbeaten 212 in the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Trophy put him among the few Indians with a List A double century, and his first ODI hundred came against South Africa on 21 December 2023. After leading Rajasthan Royals from 2021 to 2025, he moved to Chennai Super Kings for IPL 2026. He was in India's T20 World Cup-winning teams in 2024 and 2026, and was Player of the Tournament in 2026. He is also a brand ambassador for Kerala Blasters. A keen film fan, he booked an entire screen to watch Jailer 2 with his Tamil-speaking teammates.