Overview
- Members of the Sanju Samson Fans Association pooled small contributions, with no sponsors, to fund the display after roughly 45 days of planning.
- Reports differ on the tribute’s scale and cost, with accounts ranging from 40 to 50 feet and Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh, and a large MS Dhoni cutout also greeting fans.
- Thousands in Samson jerseys created a festival atmosphere outside the Thiruvananthapuram venue, as selfie crowds at the entrance slowed traffic and tested security controls.
- Supporters traveled from overseas, including a fan flying in from Qatar, while the association’s president directed arrangements remotely from Kuwait.
- The show of support came as Samson faced scrutiny over four low scores in the series, and captain Suryakumar Yadav announced at the toss that he would play the fifth T20I.