A brief drop in form during the games against Ireland and England meant that Sanju Samson was left out of the recently concluded trip to Zimbabwe.
Senior India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has revealed that he took a vow to continue to play cricket entirely on his own terms without paying attention to outside noise even before the T20 World Cup happened and added that he has stepped away from the rat race and will continue to back his own instincts. Samson etched his name into Indian cricket folklore when he smashed three consecutive fifties to help the side retain the Men’s T20 World Cup title on home soil earlier this year. But a brief drop in form during the games against Ireland and England meant that Samson was left out of the recently concluded trip to Zimbabwe.
“I realised that there is a constant rat race in our country, and I decided before the 2026 T20 World Cup that I would not be part of it. I just want to enjoy the game. By God’s grace, I have achieved a lot. I am 31 now, and I have a few years left. So, I have decided to play on my own terms. No one will tell me how to bat or what to do. Sanju will decide for Sanju.
“With all due respect, I will play, enjoy the game, be a good teammate, and support the group, but I will do it my way. After the 2024 World Cup, I didn’t even expect to play in the 2026 World Cup. I wasn’t in the 14 or 15-man squad at one point. So how can I plan for 2028? If I’m there, if the team needs me, and if I’m playing well, things will fall into place. If not, I am deeply grateful. No one can take this achievement away from me,” Samson said on JioStar’s show ‘Believe’.
Recalling an earlier gym interaction during a national team camp with former captain Virat Kohli regarding lifestyle and physical conditioning, Samson shared how the conversation influenced him. “We all know how Virat bhai is. He is very clear and very straightforward with everyone. If you need to do something, he will tell you exactly what is required. The way he carries himself in the gym, there is a different fire in that guy and I really love that about him.
“We both were working out together in the gym during an Indian team camp and I asked him, ‘Paaji, what should I do? Tell me something too!’ and he told me that lifestyle plays a huge role. If you want to become an international cricketer, you must maintain a different kind of lifestyle.
“He shared what works for him on his journey and told me, ‘This food will help your body recover, this won’t. If you maintain this discipline for the next 10 years, you will have a great career ahead.’ I started following it for a year, a year, and a half, but after that, I couldn’t stay on track with that anymore!” he explained.
Speaking on the tactical preparation ahead of the marquee T20 World Cup semi-final against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Samson recalled how he shrugged off past record discussions regarding the face-off against speedster Jofra Archer.
“When you score runs for the Indian team, you become more responsible, knowing you have to keep scoring. Ahead of the T20 World Cup semi-final against England, our top order wasn’t firing much. A lot of people were coming and telling me, ‘It’s England, Archer is bowling, he got you out 3-4 times previously, this happened, that happened.’
“But I was confident. I didn’t say anything out loud. If you talk too much, you come across as arrogant, and that goes against my belief. So, I just gestured quietly, ‘Yeah, we’ll see.’ But I had my plans ready. I knew that this Sanju Samson was not the Sanju Samson from a year ago. After that West Indies knock, I had a lot of self-validation, and I was very sure about myself. There was no room for doubt. I was going to do it for my country, and no one could stop it.”
On facing New Zealand in the final, Samson highlighted how he embraced the burden of being the team’s primary run-getter in crucial moments. “One thing I have learned is that you can’t control form all the time. Form comes and goes. At that moment in our team setup, I was the one getting runs.
“The others at the other end were contributing too, but much of the run-scoring burden was on me. I could feel the responsibility of being the main run-scorer in the World Cup final against New Zealand.
“I kept reminding myself, ‘Sanju, you are responsible. You need to keep going. You must stay there till the end and finish the job for your country.’ That thought kept me focused throughout the innings,” he elaborated.
Detailing his tactical composure against New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner during the summit clash in Ahmedabad, Samson noted how prior knockout experiences helped him stay patient.
“When you are confident, you don’t mind taking your time. I played an over against Santner where I faced four dot balls in a World Cup final. But I was completely sure that even if I played four dot balls there, I could hit two sixes later from the other end. I had absolute clarity.
“In the past, after four dot balls against Santner, I would have swung on the fifth out of panic, thinking, ‘Man, you’re wasting balls.’ But the previous games against West Indies and England taught me that taking time and playing dot balls is okay. Your team needs you to stay out there, and you know your game plan.
“You know which bowler to target and when to attack. That gave me clarity and confidence. I told myself, ‘Now you can’t walk away from here.’ So, I embraced the responsibility, used my experience, and played my natural game.”
