India opener Sanju Samson said he overcame his initial fear of competing with his own teammates for a spot in the eleven during the T20 World Cup by putting on a string of game-winning performances because he wanted to live up to the team’s demands.
Sanju scored the 89 against England in the semifinal and also against New Zealand in the final at Ahmedabad after scoring 97 against the West Indies in the crucial Super Eights. After a low-key bilateral home T20I series against New Zealand, the Kerala batter was removed from India’s starting eleven during the first part of the ICC showcase. This marked the culmination of an incredible personal comeback.
“I am the type of a person who do much better for others than doing things better for myself. In that series (against NZ), I was competing with my own people (for a place in the team) and I was not very comfortable with it,” Sanju said during India Today Conclave.
Sanju acknowledged that he was devastated by his inability to fit in with the eleven.
“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? So, that kind of feeling played in my mind at that time.
“I was absolutely broken because my dream was to win the World Cup and I am not even in the XI. So, actually I was gone away for 5-6 days and I started rebuilding myself. Started preparing myself knowing you never know what the game want to give back to you,” he said.
Sanju received the eagerly awaited opportunity during India’s Super Eight match against Zimbabwe in Chennai.
Although the 31-year-old did not score many runs, the team management assured him that he would be in the starting lineup for the following four games. In order to counteract the impact of rival off-spinners, the think tank also sought to interrupt the left-hander’s sequence at the top.
“I knew the team management had trust in me. When the World Cup came in I kind of figured out now that the team wants you, so that is the mindset change which happened in my head. So, 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,” he said.
