Sanju Samson

He went to the UAE with India for the 2012 Under-19 World Cup and topped the team's run charts, the only Indian to register three fifties. Although India failed to reach the semi-finals, he ended the event sixth among all run-scorers. The Kolkata Knight Riders signed him in 2012 without handing him a match, so his IPL breakthrough came with the Rajasthan Royals in 2013. From 2013 to 2015 he was a key part of their batting, offering both solidity and quick scoring. Rahul Dravid, mentoring the Royals in IPL-7, tipped him to do well for India.

Steady IPL form earned him a place on the 2015 tour of Zimbabwe, where he scored 19 on his T20 debut for India. He also contributed useful innings for India A in Australia as they won a quadrangular series against Australia A, South Africa A and the National Performance Squad. By the 2014-15 season he was being talked about as a possible successor to MS Dhoni behind the stumps, but his progress stalled, partly because he neglected keeping in domestic cricket. Dravid, then head coach of the Delhi Daredevils, picked him at the 2016 auction, and he finished as the side's third-highest run-scorer.

Rajasthan bought him back at the 2018 auction. His seasons there often began brightly before tailing off, and 2019 brought a couple of centuries without real consistency. After a four-year gap he returned to the India side in 2019, yet struggled to keep his place, though he played 16 ODIs and scored a hundred in that format. Only in 2024 did he find some stability. He was in the squad that won the 2024 T20 World Cup without playing a match, and afterwards hit his first T20I century, against Bangladesh, the second fastest by an Indian.

Named Rajasthan captain in 2021, he remains a fixture in their middle order, and as a domestic player he frees overseas slots for other roles. He made 531 runs in 15 matches in the 2024 IPL, but is still chasing a truly standout season.