Shashi Tharoor honours Sanju Samson with 'ponnada' in Thiruvananthapuram

Sanju Samson played a blitzkrieg innings against Bangladesh in the third T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 12. The right-handed batter smashed 111 runs in just 47 balls to notch up his maiden T20I ton. He reached the 100-run mark in just 40 balls, the second-fastest T20I century by an Indian batter. 

The Kerala star was under the scanner as his run drought was evident in recent outings. Desperate to come among the runs, Samson did so at a strike rate of around 220. Meanwhile, the Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, received the 29-year-old at his home and honoured him with a south Indian traditional ‘Ponnada’, an honorary shawl.

Also Read: Wish I could have seen Samson's ton live: Shashi Tharoor

"Delighted to give a hero’s welcome to “ton-up Sanju” as Sanju Samson returned to Thiruvananthapuram after his stunning century versus Bangladesh. Found a “ponnada” in the appropriate India colours to honour him with!” Tharoor tweeted.

Here’s Tharoor’s latest post on ‘X’:

Tharoor constant in backing Sanju Samson

Tharoor has been vocal about Samson not getting the deserved mileage in the Indian setup. The diplomat came hard at the selection committee when Samson was dropped from the squad for the Sri Lanka tour in July. It is worth noting that the Rajasthan Royals skipper accompanied India to T20 World Cup 2024 and could not feature in the playing 11. He later toured Zimbabwe and was subsequently left out for the Sri Lanka tour.

Also Read: Everyone has his own time: Sanju Samson

"Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in India colours mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team anyway," Tharoor had tweeted at the time.