‘Feeling so proud words cannot suffice’: Shashi Tharoor shares birthday call from Sanju Samson after T20 World Cup win

New Delhi, August 20 — Congress MP and Thiruvananthapuram’s Lok Sabha representative Shashi Tharoor has revealed that India’s newly crowned T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson dialled him on his birthday, capping a memorable fortnight that saw the wicketkeeper-batter transform from fringe squad member to national sensation.

Taking to social-media platform X late Tuesday evening, Tharoor wrote: “Delighted to receive a birthday call last evening from Thiruvananthapuram’s and India’s WorldCup hero @IamSanjuSamson! Expressed my happiness at his superlative achievements and wished him all the best in the #IPL. Feeling so proud of him that words truly cannot suffice.”

The call served as a personal thank-you between two prominent sons of Kerala after Samson’s blazing contributions sealed India’s second T20 World Cup title. Having started the competition outside the first-choice XI and battling questions over consistency, the 29-year-old produced three consecutive innings of staggering impact: an unbeaten 97 in the virtual quarter-final against the West Indies, followed by identical 89-run knocks in the semi-final versus England and the summit clash against New Zealand.

Across five innings Samson piled up 321 runs at an average of 80.25, striking at 199.37. His tournament ledger featured 27 fours and 24 sixes, eclipsing Virat Kohli’s 319-run benchmark from the 2014 edition to establish a new Indian record for runs in a single T20 World Cup. By registering half-centuries in both the semi-final and the final, Samson joined an elite club that includes Kohli and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi as the only batters to achieve the feat in T20 World Cup history.

For Tharoor, the conversation encapsulated civic pride and national triumph in one stroke. “Thiruvananthapuram has long claimed Sanju as its own,” a close aide to the MP said, “and the birthday call was a touching reminder that sporting glory can still feel wonderfully local.”

With the IPL season looming, Samson will now carry the momentum of his World Cup redemption arc into franchise cricket, while Thiruvananthapuram celebrates a hometown champion whose phone call meant more to a veteran parliamentarian than any congratulatory tweet ever could.