‘The boys used to get jealous’ – Sanju Samson shares interesting insights on Abhishek Sharma’s meteoric rise

India cricketer Sanju Samson has opened up on the friendship he shares with his teammate and opening partner Abhishek Sharma. The pair played a crucial role in securing India’s third T20 World Cup title, forging a 98-run partnership in the final against New Zealand to give the hosts a blistering start at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Despite the differences in their backgrounds, the pair connect really well on the field due to the similarities in their style of play. 

“We are not ice and fire, we are fire and fire. Sometimes he fires, sometimes I do. We have that kind of combination going. We have done this since 2024; we have a Kerala-Punjabi friendship in the middle. Everything comes pretty naturally to us, so we do not complicate it,” Sanju Samson said at the India Today Conclave.

“He asks me, ‘How is the ball coming?’ I tell him that the ball is coming normally, and hit it for a six. It is really simple with him. Abhishek is very brave and collected. I love his character. I really love the partnership with him on and off the field,”

Samson also revealed that the meteoric rise of Abhishek in international cricket made a lot of players within the Indian dressing room jealous due to the attention he used to get. The wicketkeeper-batter, however, understands why the Amritsar-born cricketer gets so much attention from fans and media alike. 

“Earlier, the boys used to get jealous because of the cheers for Abhishek. It was ‘Abhishek, Abhishek’ everywhere. We were like, ‘Do people only see him or what?’ But yes, he is the superstar of the team now. Get married soon, brother,” he added.

Samson and Abhishek will be looking to carry their form from the T20 World Cup final into the new Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The 25-year-old remains Sunrisers Hyderabad’s key player this season as he is all set to open the innings alongside attacking Australian batter Travis Head.

Samson, on the other hand, will be moving teams for the first time since the 2018 season. The 31-year-old has joined the Chennai Super Kings ahead of the new season as a potential long-term replacement for the legendary CSK wicketkeeper-batter and former captain MS Dhoni, who has led the franchise to record-equalling five titles thus far.