Thomas Draca Exclusive: Hardik Pandya, ‘special’ pendant and T20 World Cup dream
It seems fate had its own plans. Destiny served this dream on a platter to Joji and he became emotional.Over time, Joji made a name for himself as an expert massage therapist in Canada and later got an opportunity to work with Cricket Canada. He is now traveling with the Canadian team for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India. In the Canada jersey, he moves from one corner of the cricket ground to the other, meets cricketers from all over the world and cherishes every moment of his return home.Interestingly, his long cherished dream came true when India and Canada were scheduled to train at the Arun Jaitley Stadium at different intervals recently and Joji met his hero – Sanju Samson.“I was destined to meet him. It is nothing less than a dream story for me. Meeting Sanju was truly a dream come true,” Joji told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview. “When he was a college student, I often saw him on campus because we were in the same college. He was in Mar Baselios Engineering College, Thiruvananthapuram for his undergraduate studies and I was in the sports department in the same campus.”
Joji Varghese with Canada Cricket Team Captain Dilpreet Bajwa
“When I learned that Canada and India were sharing the same training, I was really excited. And when I finally saw him on the ground, it became one of the most memorable moments of my life that I will remember forever. Our conversation took place after his warm-up session when he came into the dressing room. Sanju was extremely humble, approachable and down-to-earth. When I told him, Chala, he immediately told me that I was from the ground.” “Sugamano?” – immediately created a personal and emotional connection Despite being such a big international star, he acted with great simplicity and respect,” he said.“We talked about Canadian cricket and our travels. Sanju also has a massive fan following in Canada. The Indian community there, like many members of the Canadian team, deeply admire him for his batting consistency and calm leadership. His popularity continues to grow among young cricketers and fans of Kerala origin. Every weekend people form teams and play cricket and Sanju is a great inspiration to them,” added Joji.Joji has also worked with several international cricketers including Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Moeen Ali, Shane Bond, Tim Southee, Yuvraj Singh and Mark Chapman. JOJI’S JOURNEY: KERALA TO CANADAWith his wife working in Italy, Joji took care of both children and continued his work in Thiruvananthapuram.Both Joji and his wife applied for Canadian PR and once they got it, they never looked back. The decision was emotional, but with the future of their children in mind, they took this bold step.“My daughter missed her mom a lot. We needed money at the time, so my wife had to leave. In Italy, you need to know Italian when you apply for PR. That’s why we chose an English-speaking country and we chose Canada. My wife is in the medical field, so she got into PR easily, and I took a course as a sports massage therapist. Because of the demand, I also got the opportunity,” he said.“I have four children now. My daughter is 16, my other son, my son, is 13 and I have twins who are six,” he added.“I was working in a private company and then I got an opportunity with the Global T20 Canada tournament. That was a big opportunity for me. Later I got an offer with Cricket Canada and now I am traveling to India with the help of the cricket board,” he said.“Currently it is minus 30 degrees in Canada. Cricketers need extra attention in such conditions. We came to Sri Lanka in the first week of January for training to adapt to the climate. We trained there for a whole month,” he added.