Kerala govt to honour T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson with civic reception

The Kerala government will honor cricketer Sanju Samson with a civic reception, recognizing his role as the “architect” of India’s march to victory in the T20 World Cup finals on Sunday, March 8, 2026. Kerala General Education Minister V. Sivankutty told reporters that the government had conveyed the decision to Mr. Samson and was awaiting the cricketer’s approval.

On Monday, March 9, 2026, television camera crews descended on Mr. Samson’s hometown in Vizhinjam, a seaside neighborhood 20 km from Thiruvananthapuram, to broadcast memories of Mr. Samson’s school days shared by his neighbours, relatives and friends. Locals had set up large screens on the beach to watch the finals on Sunday night. The celebrations, which also featured fireworks, continued until the morning. Cricket fans from across the region flocked to the church playing field where Mr Samson trained as a schoolboy.

Townspeople remembered Mr. Samson at the time as an avid sportsman. “He always needed someone to bowl to him and we obliged. It was difficult to trap him towards the net,” a resident told reporters.

Neighbors recalled Mr. Samson carrying heavy equipment and boarding buses early in the morning for training. From time to time, local autorickshaw drivers would take him to the bus stop for free.

“I was 11 years old. My bag weighed more than me. I would leave my house in Vizhinjam before sunrise, take two buses and reach the Medical College grounds at 6am. After training, I would wash with a small tap, put on my school uniform and then take a bus to St Joseph’s… School, homework, then back again for evening nets,” Mr. Samson wrote on his school’s WhatsApp group recently.

Early life lessons

Mr. Samson spoke movingly about his past as a fisherman. His grandfather was a fisherman. “Watching it, I realized something early on. You can’t control the sea. You can only control how prepared you are when you go out. Some days you come back with nothing. But you still wake up the next morning and set off again. That stuck with me,” he wrote.

Reflecting on his journey, Mr. Samson wrote that it “always started with a bus” and was marked by “self-doubt and rejection.”

He added: “But whenever I feel that doubt, my mind goes back to that little spigot on the floor. To the buses. To my parents who adjusted their lives around my practice. I remind myself that this journey was never built on comfort. It was built on consistency.”

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described Mr. Samson as an inspirational sportsman. “Mr. Samson proved that talent and hard work can take people to great heights and that no goal can surpass them,” he said.

MP Shashi Tharoor said his 70th birthday, which he celebrated on Sunday, came early for him considering “India’s magnificent victory”. “And another incredible performance from my Thiruvananthapuram hero @IamSanjuSamson for the third consecutive match! What more could one ask for?!!!” He shared on Twitter.

CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby visited Mr. Samson’s house in Vizhinjam. He told reporters the World Cup win was “the greatest honor a son can gift his mother on Women’s Day” and described Mr Samson’s strike as “immersive fireworks”.