3 players who won both IPL and T20 World Cup on 1st attempt ft. Sanju Samson
The IPL and the T20 World Cup are two of the most prestigious cricket tournaments in the world. It is the dream of every modern era cricketer to put his hands on the IPL trophy and the T20 World Cup trophy. However, not all players have been able to achieve it.
Even most of the great players who achieved this rare double took multiple attempts to accomplish it. For example, Rohit Sharma won the T20 World Cup in his first attempt but needed two seasons to win the IPL. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni won the T20 World Cup in his first attempt but required three seasons to lift the IPL trophy.
On the other side, Axar Patel won the IPL in his first season with Mumbai Indians in 2013, while he won the T20 World Cup in his second attempt, while Kamran Akmal lifted the IPL title with Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural season in 2008, but needed two attempts to win the T20 World Cup 2009 with Pakistan.
However, in this listicle, we will look at three such cricketers who won the IPL as well as T20 World Cup trophies in their first attempt.
#1 Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson has achieved an incredible feat in cricket history. The Kerala-based cricketer won the IPL in his first season in 2012 with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) without playing a single match in the tournament.
Wasim Akram, who was the bowling coach and mentor of KKR at that time, exclusively shared an anecdote about Sanju's early days at the franchise and said:
"Sanju Samson came in to bat. He was a very shy boy then. He used to be silent, and his wicketkeeping skills were great. Then, he came to bat as well. So, I took the ball, and I hope Sanju you remember this. Sanju will remember this."
12 years later, in 2024, Samson lifted the T20 WC trophy with the Indian team. Incidentally, this was Samson's first T20 WC tournament and he did not play any matches in this tournament as well. Samson received a chance in the warm-up match against Bangladesh, but he could only score one run off six deliveries.
#2 Yusuf Pathan
Former Indian all-rounder Yusuf Pathan made his T20I debut in the inaugural T20 WC final against Pakistan in 2007. He won the championship that year with the Indian cricket team.
A year later, when the BCCI launched the IPL, Pathan played a major role in the Rajasthan Royals' championship win. He scored 56 and took three wickets in the final against Chennai Super Kings to win the Man of the Match award.
#3 Sunil Narine
Former West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine also features on this elite list. The mystery spinner made his T20I debut in 2012 and won the T20 WC with the West Indies team later that year.
Narine also bagged his maiden IPL contract before the 2012 season. Kolkata Knight Riders went all out for him at the auction, and the all-rounder justified the faith shown in him by taking 24 wickets and helping KKR become the champions.