Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav share a great camaraderie, and it was visible in how the India T20I captain acknowledged the keeper-batter’s amazing knock for India in their win over the West Indies in their Super 8s game of the T20 World Cup 2026 on March 1 in Kolkata.
West Indies had been asked to bat first, and thanks to Roston Chase’s 40 and a late unbeaten 76-run stand between Rovman Powell (34*) and Jason Holder (37*), West Indies powered to 195/4 in 20 overs.
The score was substantial, and India lost three quick wickets, with Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan falling for 10 runs each and Suryakumar falling for 18 runs. But Sanju Samson stood tall at the other end and formed key partnerships with Tilak Varma (27) and Hardik Pandya (17) to keep India on course.
Samson remained unbeaten on 97 off 50 balls, guiding India to a five-wicket win in 19.2 overs.
Samson quietly returned to the dressing room after shaking hands with the West Indies players and celebrated with teammates on the pitch. He knelt down away from the loud Eden Gardens crowd and folded his hands in prayer, replicating the gesture he had done on the field after scoring the winning boundary.
Suryakumar Yadav, India's captain, is also heavily featured in the video. He reiterated his post-match remarks to broadcasters, speaking truthfully about Samson's hard career.
"I always say good things happen to good people and at the right time. No better time, no better stage for someone like him to step up and give the team what the team required. The moment he came into the side, I think the first thing that he said amongst the group when we sat together was, Let's do something that the team wants, not what you want.
In life, we've seen so many things, so many ups and downs. I don't want to take you back to what happened in the whole year—losing his position, batting out of position, and then coming back batting at the same position,” Suryakumar Yadav said in a video shared by BCCI.
Samson was moved from his opening position to make way for Shubman Gill in the 2025 Asia Cup and was eventually dropped from the team after he failed to adjust to the middle-order role. Once Shubman Gill also failed to come good, Sanju Samson returned to the Indian team, but had Ishan Kishan to compete with.
Even in the T20 World Cup, Kishan was preferred over Samson for the initial matches, and it was only because of Rinku Singh’s absence before the Zimbabwe game that Samson got a chance in India XI, and the team stumbled upon their perfect XI, with Samson and Abhishek opening and Kishan at no. 3.
"It's not easy to win the World Cup. The World Cups, the ICC tournaments, and the games that you play in ICC tournaments are won by courageous people, and this was a courageous knock. He can already get carried away by a good start, but then the way he was batting, he held one side together and took the team through. And he deserves all the credit. I'm very happy for him, his wife, his family back home, and all the people who love and support him. We're just one more step closer. Hopefully, this may continue. I have a lot of things to say, but then, I'm very happy. He deserves everything," added Suryakumar.
Visibly moved by the captain’s heartfelt tribute, Samson lightened the mood with a playful quip that drew laughter. "Rulayega kya pagle? "Will you make me cry?" said Samson as he hugged Suryakumar.
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