Sanju Samson felt his “dreams had shattered” after a poor T20I series against New Zealand just prior to the 2026 T20 World Cup, but conversations over the past two months with Sachin Tendulkar reassured him that a turnaround wasn’t far away.
“To be honest, there has been a lot of guidance and suggestions from senior players,” Samson said after winning the Player-of-the-Tournament award in India’s successful T20 World Cup defence at home.
“A lot of former players have reached out to me and tried to help me out. From the last couple of months…I hope I can share it here. I’ve been in constant touch with Sachin [Tendulkar] sir. When I was sitting outside in Australia [during the T20Is in October]…I wasn’t playing a game, I thought about what mindset is required.
“I reached out to sir and had huge [long] conversations with him. Even yesterday [Saturday] night, he called me up to check how I am feeling. Getting guidance from someone like him- that clarity, game preparation, awareness and game sense- I’m grateful for everyone who supported me.”
Samson revealed he was “broke” and “completely out of my mind” after the New Zealand series at home, having managed just 46 runs in five innings. He soon lost his place in the XI to Ishan Kishan, and didn’t get his opportunities until the Super Eight.
Samson responded with scores of 97*, 89 and 89 in three must-win games to end the tournament with 321 runs, the third most in the competition despite playing only five games. He scored those runs at a strike rate of 199.37.
“Right after the New Zealand series, I was broke. I was completely out of my mind. I felt like my dreams had shattered. I thought, ‘okay what else can I do?’ But God had different plans. I suddenly came back into the crucial games [starting with the virtual quarter-final against West Indies], and did what I could for the country. I’m very proud and happy that I was courageous enough to dream about it and things have turned up nicely for me, so I’m really grateful.”
Samson was part of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad under Rohit Sharma too, but didn’t play in a single game in the USA and Caribbean. He revealed his turnaround began then, and the “dream” to deliver what he did in Ahmedabad was born there.
“To be very honest, this entire process started one-two years before, when I was with the 2024 World Cup winning team in West Indies,” he said. “I couldn’t get a game, but I kept on dreaming, kept on visualising, kept on working. This is exactly what I wanted to do then. I thought I needed to put in so much work that this is exactly what I wanted to achieve. By God’s grace today things have turned around.”
“I’m just going through it. It feels a bit surreal. This itself is very big for me, I need to enjoy it right now.” (ESPNcricinfo)
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