Sanju Samson won the Player of the Tournament award in T20 World Cup.
Indian keeper-batter Sanju Samson, before the T20 World Cup, committed to play cricket completely on his own terms without listening to extraneous noise. He also stated that he has left the rat race and will continue to follow his gut.
Samson won the Player of the Tournament in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 win, hitting three consecutive match-winning fifties in crunch matches. However, since then, he has experienced a dip in form in the recent T20I series in the UK against Ireland and England and was left out of the India squad for the recent Zimbabwe T20I series.
"I realized that there is a constant rat race in our country, and I decided before the 2026 T20 World Cup that I would not be part of it. I just want to enjoy the game. By God's grace, I have achieved a lot. I am 31 now, and I have a few years left. So, I have decided to play on my own terms. No one will tell me how to bat or what to do. Sanju will decide for Sanju.
With all due respect, I will play, enjoy the game, be a good teammate, and support the group, but I will do it my way. After the 2024 World Cup, I didn't even expect to play in the 2026 World Cup. I wasn't in the 14 or 15-man squad at one point. So how can I plan for 2028? If I'm there, if the team needs me, and if I'm playing well, things will fall into place. If not, I am deeply grateful. No one can take this achievement away from me," Samson said on JioStar's show 'Believe.'
Samson recalled an earlier gym chat during a national team camp with former captain Virat Kohli about lifestyle and physical conditioning and how it inspired him.
"We all know how Virat bhai is. He is very clear and very straightforward with everyone. If you need to do something, he will tell you exactly what is required. The way he carries himself in the gym, there is a different fire in that guy, and I really love that about him.
We both were working out together in the gym during an Indian team camp, and I asked him, 'Paaji, what should I do? Tell me something too!' and he told me that lifestyle plays a huge role. If you want to become an international cricketer, you must maintain a different kind of lifestyle.
Samson recounted how he dismissed previous record discussions about the match against speedster Jofra Archer ahead of the India v. England semi-final in the T20 World Cup 2026.
"When you score runs for the Indian team, you become more responsible, knowing you have to keep scoring. Ahead of the T20 World Cup semi-final against England, our top order wasn't firing much. A lot of people were coming and telling me, 'It's England, Archer is bowling, he got you out 3-4 times previously, this happened, that happened.
But I was confident. I didn't say anything out loud. If you talk too much, you come across as arrogant, and that goes against my belief. So, I just gestured quietly, 'Yeah, we'll see.' But I had my plans ready. I knew that this Sanju Samson was not the Sanju Samson from a year ago. After that West Indies knock, I had a lot of self-validation, and I was very sure about myself. There was no room for doubt. I was going to do it for my country, and no one could stop it,” Samson stated.
On facing New Zealand in the final, Samson highlighted how he embraced the burden of being the team's primary run-getter in crucial moments.
"One thing I have learned is that you can't control form all the time. Form comes and goes. At that moment in our team setup, I was the one getting runs. The others at the other end were contributing too, but much of the run-scoring burden was on me. I could feel the responsibility of being the main run-scorer in the World Cup final against New Zealand.
I kept reminding myself, 'Sanju, you are responsible. You need to keep going. You must stay there till the end and finish the job for your country.' That thought kept me focused throughout the innings," Samson said.
Samson described his tactical poise against New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner during the summit match in Ahmedabad, pointing out that he was able to maintain patience because of his previous knockout experiences.
"When you are confident, you don't mind taking your time. I played an over against Santner where I faced four dot balls in a World Cup final. But I was completely sure that even if I played four dot balls there, I could hit two sixes later from the other end. I had absolute clarity.
In the past, after four dot balls against Santner, I would have swung on the fifth out of panic, thinking, 'Man, you're wasting balls.' But the previous games against the West Indies and England taught me that taking time and playing dot balls is okay. Your team needs you to stay out there, and you know your game plan.
You know which bowler to target and when to attack. That gave me clarity and confidence. I told myself, 'Now you can't walk away from here. 'So, I embraced the responsibility, used my experience, and played my natural game,” Samson stated.
Samson signed off by acknowledging the contributions of others in making India win the final.
"I really enjoyed batting with everyone; Ishan played a great role too, and we can't forget the contributions of 'Mr. Bumrah.' He's a pure cheat code, and without that cheat code, we wouldn't have gotten past England, and in the final, the start he provided was crucial. Everyone played their part, and I'm very happy I contributed the way I did,” he signed off.
(IANS inputs)