From Being On Sidelines To Becoming Player Of The Tournament: Samson's WC Run Was Worth The Wait

From being on sidelines to becoming Player of the Tournament: Samson's WC run was worth the wait (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: Sanju Samson began the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup relegated to the bench for all but a single league match against Namibia in New Delhi. Many feared the tournament would see Samson as an unused member again, a fate he faced during the victorious 2024 campaign.

When it seemed another chapter of unfulfilled potential would be written for Samson, a dramatic turn saw him redrafted during the Super Eights clash against Zimbabwe. From there, Samson did more than just step into the light - he seized the stage to become the lead actor in India’s march to a third T20 World Cup title.

In a breathtaking time from March 1-8, Samson rewrote his own legacy. It began with an unforgettable, unbeaten 97 in a high-pressure encounter against the West Indies in Kolkata, followed by two sublime, identical knocks of 89 in the semi-final and final against England and New Zealand. By the time India had the trophy in their hands, Samson had amassed 321 runs across just five innings at a blistering strike rate of 199 to become the Player of the Tournament.

His resurgence was punctuated by a record-breaking 24 sixes - the most ever by a batter in a single edition of the tournament. For a player who has carried the heavy burden of inconsistent runs and unfulfilled potential, the crowning moment felt richly deserving.

While India’s clinical 96-run demolition of New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium will be remembered as an unprecedented historical triumph, the enduring image of the 2026 campaign will be Samson finally shining on a grand stage - runs flowing as freely as the fireworks that illuminated the Ahmedabad sky on March 8.

Biju George first saw Samson bat as an 11-year-old coming to practice at the Medical College Ground in Thiruvananthapuram, nearly 25km from his home in Vizhinjam. He remembers the exact moment Samson was called up for India for their tour of England in 2014.

“When that happened, I can still imagine seeing him with his kit bag on his shoulder, walking down the ground. He came close and hugged me and said, ‘Sir, we have done that," recalled George in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

Now, over 11 years later, George remained awake in the hours after the final, riding the wave of admiration for Samson. "I am so happy for Sanju. He has seen the lows in life, now he is seeing the highs, and I am very happy for him. I hope the highs stay a little longer than the lows.

“People now absolutely look at him in a different light. If I may say so, he has done like what Kohli and Rohit have done for India in the World Cup and probably Dhoni has done the same for India in the World Cup, albeit in a lesser number of innings. So all credit to Sanju for how he has come through."

Samson’s path to this moment came via a recall triggered by India’s urge to break from left-handed batting monotony at the top order. "See, every class player needs just one break, one good break. He got that break and he just took it off from there.

“If you look at one more angle to this, the Zimbabwe, West Indies, England and New Zealand bowlers, he has faced them a lot in the IPL. So he knew what they were coming through and that was one good thing for him," added George.

To watch Samson bat is a purist’s joy. At his best, he simply stands with his famous stillness. Zubin Bharucha, the former Mumbai batter who has mentored and coached Samson since he was 17, explains why that purity is structural.

"There are many who have played this game and who strike the ball beautifully. Eventually you only get four or six. But the purists can start categorising levels of purity, which stem from your bat swing and the way the ball leaves the bat.

"The longer and higher the backlift the more the time, purer the strike, but equally more the complications, given it has a longer journey to the ball. His backlift is probably one of the higher ones around world cricket where the toe of the bat often gets past his head.

“This is unique to each individual and termed as his batting DNA. Hence when the bat comes down from that long winded coil, the ball leaves the bat with a different sound and that's the effortlessness you see in his strokeplay. Very few in the world possess this and it's completely unique to him," Bharucha told IANS.

This purity wasn’t always evident. Ahead of the World Cup, Samson made only 46 runs in five innings against New Zealand. An exaggerated trigger movement and being too deep in the crease was hampering him, but with help from the Indian coaching staff to stabilize his base, Samson found his mojo.

"Now he stopped doing that and he is very good now, as he has come back to it. See, for everybody, you can't say that as a cricketer, you adjust technique immediately. What you can say is, technique evolves over the years through experience, facing different bowlers, playing on different pitches, and that’s how it evolves.

“He has now got his Zen and mojo - like, this is what I want to be. Once the base is strong, he has got a very clear bat path with a high back-lift and a flourishing follow-through. So with the still base, all he can do is, let the hands do all the work."

Despite his talent, the challenge was often the psychological toll of being doubted. Those doubts evaporated when Samson knelt and made a cross to thank the Almighty after hitting his unbeaten 97 in Kolkata.

"Everyone has their own unique journey, but it’s the wait and the struggle that makes it extra special. So many ups and downs through any journey but what was unique was that at every juncture, his sheer undiluted talent helped supersede all obstacles.

"It was all mental, technically he had scored three centuries and in some of the most difficult conditions in SA when the next best player score was thirty odd. After those kind of innings for him to still have everyone doubt his position became his mental challenge. It would be for anyone."

In Kerala, Samson occupies a space in the popular imagination that goes beyond statistics. George recalls how his household help - a passionate cricket follower - found the stress of lack of runs from Samson’s bat being.

"She was telling my wife like in the week before Sanju was called for the matches after he had his failures initially, that ‘I have so much tension in my house. First of all, my child is sick. My house has an EMI pending. All this is fine, but why doesn't Sanju make runs? Please ask him about this.’

“She was like, ‘I can handle all of that tensions in life. But why isn't he, our kid, making runs? That is the connect he has with the Kerala audience and it’s not just Kerala, everybody loves him. He is like your younger brother every family will want in their family. He is the guy who every girl wants to romance. Every mother wants to have a person like him as their son."

Before the tournament, Samson prepared by batting for long hours every day on grounds made available by the Kerala Cricket Association. "Hats off especially to the secretary, Mr. Vinod S Kumar, because he gave the go ahead for the use of those three first class grounds, even with the use of lights so that he could bat under lights," said George.

Bowlers came in shifts, as Bharucha oversaw the technical side of those sessions. "Any camp at this stage of his career is merely to ensure things are all in place technically and we have worked on high variability. Like, have we practiced every aspect we imagine might be encountered inside the game. An early swinging ball or persistent short balls or spinners bowling different angles. Once each box had been ticked he was ready to go."

A support structure involving his wife Charulatha Remesh, friend Iqlas Naha, and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar helped Samson keep his focus. "He had reached out to the Master batter, which was really good. It still goes on to show that the legends of Indian cricket, they are still helping the current generation and that is called legacy – like what do you leave behind?"

George also revealed that India head coach Gautam Gambhir's admiration for Samson stretches back to being at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). "People always speak about Rajasthan Royals giving the start for Sanju. But he started his IPL career with KKR.

"People always speak about RR giving the start for Sanju. But he started his IPL career with KKR. That's why when he hit the 97 not out against the West Indies, I was thinking how fitting it is - the city where he started his IPL career is the place where he began his turnaround.

“He was given an academy contract by KKR, but Venky Mysore came in and he was instrumental in making sure that he was given an IPL contract, especially when Gautam Gambhir was leading.

“Nobody knows Gautam Gambhir was always a big fan and supporter of Sanju. In 2013/14 when I was working with KKR, Gautam bhai always used to ask, ‘What is Sanju doing? Make sure he doesn't fail and take care of him.’ He used to tell me every single time.”

George, who works as talent scouting head for KKR, has not called Samson since the final. He is waiting, deliberately, for the noise to settle. "I am still in that euphoria. I don't know whether it's a dream or reality, but it's really good for him.

“I hope he does well in the IPL too, where he will play for a new team (Chennai Super Kings) and on a new wicket. Chennai’s wicket has also changed. It has become a flatter wicket. It will be good for him. I didn't try to reach out because I wanted everything for him to sink in. I will talk to him only after the IPL."

For Bharucha, the question of whether this moment represents a new beginning for Samson is not an easy one to answer, though he did feel a potential chance of captaining India could come. "This is a difficult question to answer not from the perspective of whether it's the beginning because it is in many ways the beginning and if he wants, he can go win India another World Cup or even potentially captain India given his unique leadership qualities.

“But because he is such a unique personality with such wide and varied interests in life beyond cricket, where he wants to solve the problems of the world and certainly his beloved Kerala.

“He is in a unique and privileged position and while everyone would want to continue watching that silken and effortless flow regaling cricket audiences around the world, Sanju the individual might have other desires. He is such a unique individual. Maybe he can traverse both worlds and keep everyone happy, but only time will tell what will make Sanju happy."

“But because he is such a unique personality with such wide and varied interests in life beyond cricket, where he wants to solve the problems of the world and certainly his beloved Kerala.

“Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues) and Sanju are probably the two cricketers who are closest to my heart. Jemi is my daughter. For Sanju, I hope he carries this on for a long, long time in the same way,” concluded George.

Article Source: IANS