Indian batter Sanju Samson is away from action after being rested for the upcoming three-match tour of Zimbabwe that begins on Thursday. The 31-year-old didn’t have a great tour of Ireland and England, scoring just 33 runs from four games at an average of 8.25 and a strike rate of 127.
Samson, during a recent chat with JioStar, recalled an interesting chat with Rohit Sharma on the sidelines of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The former India skipper had told the wicketkeeper and batter that he would get his chances later in the tournament. Kerala-born player played against Namibia before earning a recall for the game against Zimbabwe, where he scored 24 runs.
Chennai Super Kings star said, “To be honest, Ididn’t believe Rohit at that time. Sorry. He might have spoken from his heart or from his own experiences, but that day I wasn’t able to see his vision. It was on my face, but I was feeling off that day.” Those words from the Mumbai Indians turned out to be prophetic as the batter played a key role in the title win.
In the game against West Indies at Eden Gardens, Sanju scored 97 not out, followed by identical scores of 89 in the Semis against England and the final against New Zealand. He was named the player of the tournament for his 321 runs. Both Rohit and Samson shared a good bond.
The stumper has recounted in many interviews how the veteran skipper took him aside and explained the reasons for his snub in the 2024 T20 World Cup final just before the toss was to take place.
Turning into India’s hero after a dismal run of scores
2026 hasn’t been kind to the Kerala cricketer, with just 46 runs from five games against New Zealand raising doubts about his form. This included a run-a-ball six runs in front of home fans in Thiruvananthapuram in the final game of the series against the Kiwis. This saw the cricketer lose his spot in the playing XI, with the team management using Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan as the openers.
Recalling this, the opening batter said, “The World Cup started just 48 hours after the series against New Zealand ended. It took me a week to get back on track, and I don’t like to bottle up things, which shows on my face. I had to go through such a phase for close to five days before getting back on track.”
Ultimately, those words of wisdom from Hitman seemed to work in his favour, and he found a spark that saw the home team lift their third World Cup title.
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