Sanju Samson celebrates with the team at T20 World Cup© AFP
It has been a stunning comeback story for Indian cricket team star Sanju Samson. From getting dropped from the playing XI for the inital part of the T20 World Cup 2026 to playing stunning knocks to guide his team to wins over West Indies and England, it has been a stunning turnaround for him. He was the top performer with the bat for India as he slammed 89 to take his side to a solid total and ultimately, a narrow win over England in the semifinal. In the post-match press conference, Samson admitted that the lead-up to the World Cup was a tough phase for him and even recalled how he tried too hard to make an impression during the New Zealand series. However, he learnt to respect the format and decided to work on his basics.
“Yes, I think that was very challenging for me. I think I definitely wanted to come and do what I am trying to do now for the country, contribute, and win games in the World Cup. But I think I was trying a bit too much in the New Zealand series, I wanted to make an impact and get into the 11 of the World Cup here. But I think you know this format, I think this cricket can get very funny, Even the best in the world actually struggle to score runs in this format. So I think I had to respect the game. I had to come back to my basics, work a bit more from my basics. I think a lot of work did go really well,” Samson said.
Samson further revealed that he decided to shut down his phone and social media in order to cut down the ‘outside noise’ and added that despite playing so well ahead of the T20 World Cup final, he has still not checked his social media.
“I think when hard times were coming, I think my close people, the people whom I love, whom I support, they were with me and I closed all my windows, I shut down my phone, I was not in social media, I am still not in social media, so less noise, less people interacting with me, so I think that really helped me to focus on the right direction and I am very happy how I am going.”