Sanju Samson has had a stop-start run to his international career. He may have made his T20I debut in 2015 but it took five more years for him to play his second game in the format. Since 2020, he’s constantly been in and out of the team.
In addition to that, the Kerala wicket-keeper batter has batted in almost every position from 1 to 7. After a few consistent seasons in the IPL, Samson finally got his due. He didn’t play a single game but he was a part of the T20 World Cup win earlier this year.
There was a lot of talk around his place and his form, especially in the international arena. Since the start of 2023 and before the start of the Bangladesh series, Samson played 11 innings in T20Is and made just 148 runs at an average of 16.44 with a strike-rate of 124.36. His only half-century came against Zimbabwe in July this year.
However, he has turned things around beautifully. With the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill focusing on Test cricket at the moment, Samson got the opportunity to open the batting in the Bangladesh series and he made the most of it. After scores of 29 and 10 in two games, he smashed a scintillating ton in the third T20I, hitting 111 off 47 balls. He backed that up with a second successive hundred against South Africa in Durban.
Samson racked up a magnificent 107 which came off just 50 deliveries in the first T20I. He became only the fourth batter and the first Indian to notch up consecutive T20I hundreds.
Speaking to the broadcasters, the 29-year-old was emotional and admitted he has waited for such a moment for 10 years now. He couldn’t hide his happiness.
“If I think a lot I will get a bit emotional. This thing was not easy for me as I waited for this moment for 10 years. I’m very happy, grateful and blessed. But I would like to keep my feet on the ground, be in the moment and enjoy. Very happy doing it,” Samson was quoted saying after the knock.
Samson admitted to having a positive mindset
Samson who smashed seven fours and 10 sixes in his 50-ball knock revealed that he was in the zone and things happened in the flow. Moreover, when he was asked about intent, he said it’s all about having a ‘positive mindset’.
“I was in a zone. Honestly if I speak, it was automatically happening, so I just wanted to let it flow. It’s a good question actually, it is about having positive mindset. If the ball is there to be hit, go for it. I focus on one ball at a time throughout the innings and that helps,” Samson added.
Samson could well be on his way to cementing a spot at the top of the order in T20I cricket for India. He has been backed by captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir.
