NEW DELHI: Life hasn’t been a smooth journey for Sanju Samson, and the talented batter has faced his share of setbacks. Following his century against Bangladesh in the third T20I in Hyderabad on Saturday, Samson reflected on his performances and acknowledged that he now has a better grasp of how to manage pressure.
Samson expressed his gratitude to the Indian cricket team for continuing to believe in him, especially after his back-to-back ducks in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.Although India won that series 3-0, questions were raised about Samson’s form.
However, Samson was handed another opportunity in the T20I series against Bangladesh, and this time, the Kerala batter delivered something extraordinary. He stole the spotlight with a blistering century, scoring the second-fastest hundred by an Indian in T20I cricket—reaching the milestone in just 40 balls. His knock helped India amass a commanding total of 297.In response, India restricted Bangladesh to 164/7, securing a 133-run win and sealing the series 3-0.
Reflecting on his recent struggles, the 29-year-old admitted he had doubts about receiving another chance after his two ducks in Sri Lanka.
” I keep telling myself I just need focus on the process, keep doing my training, keep believing in myself and one day it’ll come soon. Playing for the country, you come in with a lot of pressure. That pressure was there, I wanted to perform and I wanted to show what I am capable of,” Samson said.
He credited his support system within the team for helping him stay grounded.
“I kept reminding myself I just need to keep it as basic as possible, focus on one ball at a time, keep playing my shots. The dressing room and the leadership group which we have, they keep telling me, “I know what type of talent you have and we back you no matter what,” Not in words, in actions also they’ve shown me” he said.
Recalling his mindset after the Sri Lanka series, he added, “In the last series I got two ducks and went back to Kerala thinking, “kya hoga bhai,” but they backed me in this series and I am very happy that I gave something to smile for my captain and coach.”
On his incredible knock, including five sixes in an over, Samson said, “I’ve been trying to do something like that for the past year, and today, it finally happened.”
