‘I didn’t see what he saw’: Sanju Samson recalls Rohit Sharma’s Advice after being dropped during T20 WC | Cricket News
Sanju Samson revealed how Rohit SharmaInspirational words during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 initially failed to convince him after being left out of India’s playing XI in the latter stages of the tournament. However, the wicketkeeper-batter eventually found his confidence again and responded with one of the defining knocks of India’s campaign against the West Indies.After Samson endured a disappointing five-match T20I series against New Zealand in the run-up to the World Cup, Rohit made it clear that the Kerala batter still has a key role to play in India’s campaign.“Dukhi mat ho bhai. This is a long tournament, kabhi bhi mauka aa sakta hai.” (“Don’t lose heart, brother. It’s a long tournament. You’ll get your chance. Opportunity can come anytime,”) Rohit told Samson as he hugged him.
‘I didn’t believe in Rohit at that time’
Reflecting on that difficult phase, Samson admitted that he was too disappointed to believe the words of his captain at that time.“Honestly, I didn’t believe him at that time. Sorry. He may be speaking from his heart or from his experience, but that day I didn’t see what he saw. You can see it on my face; I was a bit absent that day,” Samson told JioStar.The Kerala batter said the disappointment lingered even after India’s World Cup campaign began, making it difficult for him to move on.“Our World Cup campaign started two days after the New Zealand series, and I needed at least a week to recover. I don’t like to bottle things up, so it shows on my face if I don’t feel 100 percent. I went through that phase for four or five days before getting myself back on track,” he added.
‘I began to discover myself’
Samson said failure eventually became an opportunity for self-reflection, helping him reconnect with his purpose as a cricketer.“You know you’ve failed, so what’s next? You’re at the bottom, so from there, you can only go up. I started working on myself mentally. I started asking myself, why am I playing cricket? What’s my purpose? I seem to be discovering myself as the World Cup goes on. And then everything just came back,” Samson said.
Redemption by Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson wrote one of the greatest redemption stories in T20 World Cup history, finishing as the Player of the Tournament as India lifted the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on home soil. After being dropped from the playing XI following a poor run of form, Samson fought his way back into the side and ended the tournament as India’s highest run-scorer and the third highest overall, scoring 321 runs in just five games at an incredible average of 80.25 and a blistering strike rate of 199.37. He also smashed a tournament record of 24 sixes, the most by any batter in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.
Post Comment