Sanju Samson reflects on his journey to success in the T20 World Cup

He was first pushed down the order to accommodate Shubman Gill. He then lost his place in the XI to Jitesh Sharma’s finishing prowess before eventually regaining his preferred slot at the top of the order on the cusp of the Men’s T20 World Cup. What followed was a horrendous series against New Zealand, forcing him to wait a little longer for his T20 World Cup debut.

Cut to Thursday night and, for the second time in as many outings, Sanju Samson emerged as the toast of a cricket-crazy nation. If his unbeaten 97 in the virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies to guide India into the knockouts was not impressive enough, Samson carried the momentum forward with a scintillating 42-ball 89 to set up India’s nail-biting semifinal win against England at the Wankhede Stadium.

Samson reflected on the rough patch that preceded his turnaround. “That was very, very challenging for me. I definitely wanted to come and do what I am trying to do now for the country, contribute and win games in the World Cup,” a relieved Samson said during a media conference after India booked its second consecutive final.

“I was trying a bit too much in the New Zealand series. I wanted to make an impact and get into the level of the World Cup here. But you know this format. Cricket can get very funny. Even the best in the world actually struggle to score runs in this format, so I have to respect the game. I have to come back to my basics, work a bit more from my basics. A lot of work went really well. I think when hard times were coming, I think my close people, the people who I love, my support, were with me and I closed all my windows. I shut down my phone. I was not on social media. I am still not on social media. So less noise, less people interacting with me. That really helped me to focus in the right direction and I am really happy with how I am doing.”

Samson enjoyed a slice of luck in the third over when England captain Harry Brook dropped a regulation catch at mid-on with the batter on 15— an opportunity India’s opener made England regret.

“I have been unlucky for quite a while, so it’s okay to be lucky at times and then thought about making the most of it,” Samson said, in a tongue-in-cheek reply.

While Samson admitted that successive impactful knocks have taken some weight off his shoulders, he hopes to continue in the same vein on Sunday night against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

“It feels really great or relieved that I have been actually for a few years trying to do something like this for my country, so just waiting with a lot of patience, a lot of inner work, a lot of training, and a lot of practice,” Samson said.

“Definitely I should be very grateful, but I kind of feel that we have one more step to go. If we do that, then all the work, everything was worth it. I feel that one more innings should be good.”