Sanju Samson says he’s replicating Rahul Dravid’s leadership qualities at Rajasthan Royals
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Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has implied that he tries to mould his captaincy in the style of Indian cricket great Rahul Dravid.
In a special episode released on JioHotstar, Samson reiterated his admiration for Dravid, who has returned to the franchise as head coach for the upcoming IPL season. "As a captain, he used to lead from the front and off the field as well. There is lot to learn from him as a character," said Sanju about his first captain at RR.
Dravid first took up mentorship at RR in 2014 before undertaking various other coaching roles, with the most high-profile one as head coach of Indian men's team that culminated with the T20 World Cup triumph last year.
Sanju said he had observed Dravid from close quarters during his time at RR. "All the small instances, how he used to treat the young people, how he used to take care of the seniors, how he communicates, how he talks during meetings," Sanju said. "All those things I quietly observed and I feel like somewhat I do the same thing."
Sanju said he has followed in the footsteps of Dravid at RR. "When he came back, he asked me, 'Sanju, what do you stand for in this franchise?' and I told him, 'sir, its very easy, I just continued from where you left'."
Dravid sustained a foot injury while playing in Bengaluru. RR posted a photograph of Dravid posing with a cast on his left foot, and said their head coach was "recovering well". Sanju is also recovering from a fracture on his index finger sustained during India's T20I home series against England ahead of the recently concluded Champions Trophy. He is expected to be fit for the IPL.
Besides skipper Sanju, the Royals retained Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma and Shimron Hetmyer. They also signed up Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Nitish Rana and exciting 13-year-old batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi, among others, from the IPL Mega Auction in Jeddah last November. The IPL will start on March 22.