Sanju Samson‘s exploits were a major factor in fuelling India’s recent T20 World Cup triumph. Speaking on the sidelines of the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 in the capital, Samson likened his performance during India’s march to the title to a movie and said it was yet to sink in. “Not yet, I am still like, actually, when I get up in the morning I’m like ‘has it really happened’. So honestly, that’s the feeling,” Samson said when asked about last Sunday’s triumph.
He added, “But I feel that in the coming years, with the quality of players we have in our country, this is going to be repeated. It’s not going to be, okay, it has happened once in a while. The amount of players who are coming up… definitely India is going to do this more and more often.” Samson was named Player of the Tournament in the 2026 T20 World Cup after a historic campaign, scoring 321 runs at a strike rate of nearly 200 in just five innings to lead India to the title.
During the awards ceremony, Samson had a wholesome moment with KL Rahul. As Samson and the Indian team were called upon the stage, Rahul took the wicketkeeper’s name. Samson returned to hug Rahul.
KL calling Sanju for a hug as he goes to collect his award, is giving us the feels tonight pic.twitter.com/rBLvzSUDrS
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 15, 2026
Despite not playing initially, he delivered 80-plus scores in the must-win Super Eights match against the West Indies, the semi-final against England, and the final against New Zealand.
Samson further said he had been dreaming of helping India win a World Cup.
“Absolutely, I think you can only dream where you want to go, but you can’t definitely ride the path towards it. So my life or my career has been one of the best examples. I definitely wanted to do this a couple of years ago.
“I wanted to win a World Cup for my country, but it had its own plan, its own script. So… more like a movie. I enjoyed it,” Samson said.
The unassuming star from Kerala has been toiling for years to leave an impact on the game, and the T20 World Cup was his finest moment.
“As I said before, I wanted to do something like this, then I got pulled out of my journey, and then suddenly, the team wanted me to come and contribute, and that’s when I actually mentally flipped a bit… I think before that, in the New Zealand series, the focus was all about myself.
“But in the World Cup, the focus was all about the team. I think: what does the team require? And in the Zimbabwe game, right from that moment, everyone wanted me to contribute. I had a role to play.
“So that’s when the shift happened and the confidence that, okay, ‘the team needs you, Sanju’, and let’s do what you can best. So that’s where everything started from.
“And then I had the experience, I was working mentally, I was working physically, so I knew that I’m ready, and I knew that this is meant for me. So I just had to do what I know best.
“So, I’ve been playing this format for a very long time and then it was just about planning and going out there and executing it,” Samson said.
Pacer Mohammed Siraj described the triumph as a “miracle” from a personal point of view, as he was not even part of the initial squad for the tournament and was included only as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana.
“I was not in the initial squad, then I got in, played a game, and now I have been part of two World Cup-winning squads. I would say it’s a miracle for me,” Siraj said.