WATCH: Sanju Samson plays enjoys free time while playing football in Kerala

Sanju Samson has been in fine form in recent times. The wicket-keeper batter from Kerala was in the ODI squad for India that toured South Africa. He scored his maiden ODI hundred in the third and final ODI against the Proteas at the Boland Park in Paarl. The batter waited for 8 long years to score his maiden ton in the white-ball cricket. Samson’s century helped the Men in Blue to win their second ODI series in the Rainbow Nation. 

The 29-year-old batter is not in the Test squad and has been enjoying his off-time in his hometown while playing football at a local tournament in Kerala. A video of him playing the game has gone viral on social media and was seen showcasing his on-the-ball dribbling skills for Trivandrum in a local sevens tournament. The batter has a past relationship with the game and has revealed that his father was a football player for the Delhi Police Football Team.

The Kerala batter averaged 55.7 and had a strike rate of 104 in 13 ODI innings, however, the player was left out of the Indian squad for the ODI World Cup because the selectors preferred to go with players like Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, over him. But the century against the Proteas might have just answered the critics and the selectors as well, though his place is yet to be cemented. 

Here's the video

#SanjuSamson playing Football in a local Sevens Tournament#Sanju #Samson pic.twitter.com/JvGMOPnC2Y

— Rohit (@___Invisible_1) December 30, 2023

I think there's always no other way to come back: Sanju Samson

After scoring the century he said, "The last three, four months were challenging for me mentally. So going through all that and coming here I think doing what I did today, I think I feel really happy and grateful. I've been blessed in my genes. My father is also a sportsman, so how much ever setbacks you have, I think there's always no other way to come back and bounce back... think how much you can work on yourself and how you can come back more strongly."

"Honestly, I think I was not looking at the scorecard. Until I had a partnership with Tilak till then I just wanted to play and like go with the merit. I just watched the ball and bat and the boundaries and the scoring options ultimately happened."