India wicketkeeper Sanju Samson’s father, Vishwanath Samson, has made strong allegations against Indian cricket’s biggest names like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, accusing them of wasting his son’s 10 precious years by not giving him consistent opportunities at the international level. Samson is in South Africa, playing in the ongoing four-match T20I series. In the series opener, he scored a century but followed it up with a duck in the second game.
In a recent interview with a Kerala-based news outlet, Media One, Vishwanath Samson expressed frustration over what he believes has been a decade of lost opportunities for his son. He specifically called out former captains MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma, as well as former coach Rahul Dravid, alleging that their decisions had stifled Sanju’s international career. “There are 3-4 people who wasted 10 years of my son’s vital career… captains like Dhoni ji, Virat [Kohli] ji, Rohit [Sharma] ji, and coach [Rahul] Dravid ji,” he said, adding that they had “destroyed 10 years of my son’s life.”
Despite the setbacks, Vishwanath Samson praised his son’s resilience, stating, “The more they hurt him, the stronger Sanju came out of the crisis.”
In addition to criticizing the current and former leadership of the Indian team, Samson’s father also took aim at former cricketer Kris Srikkanth. Vishwanath accused Srikkanth of belittling Sanju’s achievements, particularly his maiden T20I century against Bangladesh. “What hurt me really bad was comments from [Kris] Srikkanth, the player from Tamil Nadu,” he said. “He said, ‘against whom did Sanju score a century? It was only Bangladesh.’ Century is a century, and that guy has scored only 26 runs against Bangladesh. Sanju has scored a hundred and he is a player with a classical touch like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. At least respect that.”
Sanju Samson, known for his calm demeanor and humility, typically avoids controversy. However, his father’s outspoken comments have quickly gone viral on social media, sparking debate among fans and pundits alike. Despite the criticism, Samson has continued to perform at the highest level, demonstrating his talent and determination on the international stage.
