After contributing significantly to India’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign, Sanju Samson expressed sincere thanks, describing the experience as the realization of a long-cherished dream that he had previously thought had vanished.
With a string of half-centuries from the virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies to the title match against New Zealand, Samson wrote an incredible comeback during the T20 World Cup, overcoming inconsistency and benching to become India’s top run scorer.
The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter was also named Player of the Tournament for his steady play, scoring 321 runs with a strike rate of 199.37 and an average of 80.25 in five innings. He finished as the third-highest run scorer in the T20 World Cup after hitting 27 fours and 24 sixes.
Additionally, he eclipsed Virat Kohli’s 319 runs in the 2014 T20 World Cup to become the Indian player with the most runs in a single tournament.
Speaking in a video that BCCI posted on X, Samson said that while he had always wanted to reach this milestone for the country, he had never thought it would turn out the way it did.
“Unbelievable, I think I already said before, I had the dream to achieve this, but I didn’t know it would happen so exactly in this current moment. So very grateful. I absolutely don’t have words for it, to be very honest. I know, I think genuine prayers and genuine wishes are very powerful, and when they are given by such a huge crowd, I think I can’t ask for more. I think they definitely, genuinely wish and pray for me,” Samson said.
After defeating New Zealand in the final, India became the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup and the first to win the prestigious competition three times since it began in 2007.
When Samson thought back on the encouragement he got from people all throughout the nation, he claimed that their prayers meant more to him than any accomplishment.
“I think that is much, much bigger than anything for me in this life. I want to thank each and every one of you out there who has wished for me, who has prayed for me. Thank you so much, and this means the world to me. You definitely can have a dream, you can definitely think that that’s what you want to achieve, but you can’t plan the way to get there. That is something only one person can do. I actually lost it,” Samson added.
The wicketkeeper-batter had a difficult home T20I series against the Black Caps prior to the T20 World Cup, scoring just 46 runs in five games. Samson disclosed that following the New Zealand series, he felt his dream was dashed.
“I think I left it alone after the New Zealand series. I thought my dream was broken. I actually wanted to do this, wanted to be the man for India in this World Cup, but after the New Zealand series, I thought that I didn’t utilise my opportunity, and the dream is broken. But I think the world and God’s grace, things turned around, and I’m very happy that what has happened here,” Samson said.
