Indian opener Sanju Samson said he was fired up when the team found themselves in must-win territory in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Samson was included in the Super 8 stage match against Zimbabwe after India suffered a crushing 76-run loss against South Africa.
The flamboyant batter produced scores of 97(50), 89(42), and 89(46) in the virtual quarterfinals, semifinal and final of the tournament, respectively. The right-hander was awarded Player of the tournament after he scored 321 runs in five matches at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.38.
Meanwhile, Samson admitted he was broken after he could only manage 46 runs in five matches against New Zealand and his dream of doing well in the World Cup was all but shattered.
“I am the type of person who does much better for others than doing things better for myself,” Samson said at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi. “In that series [against New Zealand], I was competing with my own people and I was not very comfortable with it.
“I was too desperate knowing that my dream is so near. But was the team still trying some combinations? So, is Sanju there or not there? That kind of feeling played in my mind at that time.”
After a mundane series against New Zealand, Samson was dropped with the team backing Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.
“I was absolutely broken because my dream was to win the World Cup and I was not even in the XI. I had gone away for five-six days and I started rebuilding myself, started preparing myself, knowing you never know what the game wants to give back to you.”
After a heavy loss against South Africa in the Super 8 stage, India had to win the next four games to go all the way in the tournament. Samson batted at the top of his game in the last three games to take his team to glory.
“I knew the team management had trust in me,” Samson said. “When the World Cup came in, I figured out what the team wants from you, so that is the mindset change which happened in my head.
“Right from the Zimbabwe game, we had to win four out of four matches and the team needs you. So that’s when it became very positive for me, and I was very fired up. It wasn’t the start I wanted, but still, I was happy because the team was doing well and we were still winning the game.
“Obviously, I had a dream that I wanted to be a world champion one day and it’s just not about one trophy, as it’s all about how many trophies I can win for my country and that’s all I play for.”
Samson will be next seen in action while playing for CSK in IPL 2026.
