Star player opens up about his tough phase in life before the T20 World Cup 2026. Take a look and read the full story.
Published: March 15, 2026 9:38 AM IST
Sanju Samson opens up about difficult phase before the T20 World Cup 2026
However, Sanju Samson opened up about his place in the Indian team before the T20 World Cup 2026. Samson revealed that after being in the bilateral series against New Zealand at home left him “absolutely broken.” “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.”Add India.com as a Preferred Source
“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,” he added.
Sanju gets opportunity after Abhishek Sharma falls ill
Sanju Samson did not feature in the playing XI at the beginning of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 as the team management preferred Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma as the opening pair. However, Sanju got a chance to play against Namibia after Abhishek fell ill. Abhishek recovered and returned to the team, Samson was again left out of the lineup. “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.”Sanju makes strong comeback with match-winning performances
India’s top order had many left-handed batters, so teams often used off-spinners against them. Because of this, Sanju Samson got another chance in the match against Zimbabwe, where he scored 24 runs off 15 balls. After that, he played a brilliant unbeaten 97 against the West Indies in the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Samson then scored 89 runs in the semi-final against England and another 89 in the final against New Zealand. Because of these performances, he finished third in the tournament’s run-scoring list and won the Player of the Tournament award. “I knew the team management had trust in me,” Samson said.Samson reflects on mindset shift and his dream to win trophies for India
“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.”For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/
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