Sanju Samson won the Player of the Tournament award.
India batter Sanju Samson has revealed what fired him up for those breathtaking performances in the crunch T20 World Cup 2026 matches. He unleashed his beast mode in the later stages of the tournament and played a pivotal role in the team’s title-winning campaign at home.
In a chat at India Today Conclave, Samson said that the must-win territory fueled him to step up from the game against Zimbabwe onwards. India had lost to South Africa in the opening Super 8 fixture in Ahmedabad and needed to win all the matches to defend the title, which they did precisely.
“I knew the team management had trust in me. When the World Cup came in, I figured out what the team wants from you, so that is the mindset change which happened in my head. 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.”
Sanju Samson was instrumental in those wins, scoring 24 against Zimbabwe, an unbeaten 97 against West Indies, and 89 each against England and New Zealand. Eventually, he ended as the third-leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 321 runs at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.38 in five innings, including three fifties.
India didn’t start the T20 World Cup 2026 with Sanju Samson, as they preferred two LHB openers – Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Even when Samson played against Namibia, he got a chance due to Abhishek’s illness and was again omitted when the southpaw returned for the next game.
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However, India’s off-spin issues became too obvious after the defeat against South Africa, forcing them to break an all-LHB top three by introducing Samson at the top, pushing Kishan to No.3 and Tilak to No.5. The move worked brilliantly for the team, as the batter made the top order more dynamic and shielded them from off-spinners, apart from providing rapid starts and covering for Abhishek’s poor form.
In the first five games, Indian batters had an average of 9.75 and a strike rate of 106.36 against off-spin, but they surged to 26.75 and 148.61 in the last four games. Samson’s presence means the opponents couldn’t use this bowling as dominantly as before, with Tilak also excelling in a new role in the middle order.
Samson obviously also showed immense game awareness and altered his strategy based on the game situation and the team’s demands. For instance, he went berserk against Zimbabwe and England when India were batting first, but weaved a prudent knock during that epic chase against the West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal in Kolkata.
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