Sanju Samson won the Player of the Tournament award for his 321 runs in five games
Keralam’s Congress MP Shashi Tharoor shared his joy on getting a birthday call from India’s T20 World Cup 2026 hero Sanju Samson and stated that he was very proud of what the cricketer achieved.
Samson's trip through the competition was an incredible redemption story. Initially out of the starting eleven and dealing with uneven form, he scored three match-winning innings when it counted the most—97* against the West Indies, 89 in the semifinal against England, and then 89 in the final against New Zealand.
Samson scored 321 runs in five innings, with an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37, including 27 fours and 24 sixes. He was awarded the Player of the Tournament for his brilliant impact for India.
Samson broke Virat Kohli's record of 319 runs in the 2014 T20 World Cup, becoming the most runs scored by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup edition. He was also one of the few batters, along with Virat and Shahid Afridi, to get half-century in both the semifinals and finals of a T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Shashi Tharoor took to X to reveal that Samson called him on his birthday and revealed that he was proud of what the cricketer achieved in the recent T20 World Cup 2026. Tharoor also wished Samson all the best for the IPL 2026, where Samson will play for five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
“Delighted to receive a birthday call last evening from Thiruvananthapuram’s and India’s WorldCup hero @IamSanjuSamson! Expressed my happiness at his superlative achievements and wished him all the best in the #IPL. Feeling so proud of him that words truly cannot suffice,” Tharoor posted on X.