Sanju Samson recently scored his maiden T20I ton for India against Bangladesh.
Sanju Samson, India keeper-batter, recalled how he tried to avoid eye contact with India coach Gautam Gambhir, after he failed to score runs, despite being backed by him. The instance he talked about came during India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July-August.
This tour was Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment as India head coach, where he took over from Rahul Dravid, whose tenure ended after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side completed a clean sweep in T20Is but for Sanju Samson, it was a forgettable affair as he managed two ducks in a row.
Despite the disappointing performance, Samson was retained for the following T20I against Bangladesh at home. He scored 29 in the series opener and added 10 more as India seized a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
It would not have been shocking if India dropped Samson for the dead rubber in Hyderabad. However, the keeper-batsman made the starting XI and understood it was a make-or-break game for him.
Samson admitted that after a couple of bad scores, he avoided Gambhir's stare. In Hyderabad, the venue for the third T20I, Samson overcame previous disappointments with a magnificent century to lead India to a record total of 297/6.
“A player’s relationship with his coach is quite important. When you get the coach’s backing, you want to repay the faith with performances. It was my wish to make him happy for all the chances I was being given. So when I was out early in a one-odd match, I was trying to avoid eye contact with him and waiting for my chance. So really happy when I struck a century and Gauti bhai was clapping for me,” Samson told journalist Vimal Kumar in an interview on his YouTube channel.
Samson says the Sri Lanka tour was on his mind, but he's learned to deal with pressure by focusing on the positives and things he can control.
“There was pressure (to perform in Hyderabad). Definitely thought about what happened in Sri Lanka, and what will happen in the future, it’s quite normal to speculate. Sometimes you do get lost in your thoughts even while batting you are under pressure. I have learned to handle pressure with experience and speaking to others. On the other hand, I knew these thoughts were pretty normal. I only focused on what I can do, the controllable, and how well I can contribute to the team once set,” he added.
Samson made his international debut in 2015 when he was 20. He has since played in just 16 ODIs and 33 T20Is but the 29-year-old has no qualms.
“It’s been almost 10 years since my debut. Everybody has a different career trajectory. Some get chances quite early in their lives, some take time and then there are those who never get a chance. There are a lot of people who dream of playing for India, they work hard, and score runs but don’t get the chance. I was lucky that I made my debut in India at the age of 20. Since then it’s been on and off," Samson said.
I understand that everyone’s life journey and career is different and my journey is unique too. I have always looked at the positive side and been grateful. The focus is on what’s in my hands and what’s going right. In my mind, I was confident of making it big one day. Finally, I played a really good innings for my country and it felt good,” he added.
Sanju Samson is currently playing for Kerala in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25 and is expected to be part of India’s white-ball tour of South Africa later this year.