Against West Indies in Kolkata Sanju Samson Shortly after his 50-ball 97, a clip of a passionate conversation between him and Rohit Sharma went viral. It showed the former Indian captain approaching Samson and assuring him that an opportunity to play in the team would come.
This was just before India’s first match against the USA, where Samson was sent off and left on the bench. After the wicketkeeper completed a sensational turnaround, Rohit opened up about why he decided to have that conversation with Samson.
The former India skipper is not new to having to wait for opportunities in his career as he missed out on playing in the 2011 World Cup, coming in and out of the team before claiming the opening slot. Rohit said that he was in the same position as Samson in his career and now he can feel his feelings.
The former India skipper wanted to tell Samson not to lose hope and wait for the opportunity. Rohit is happy that Samson made the most of his opportunity to help lead India to the final.
“Sometimes I can feel the pulse of the player. When I’m in a tournament like this and I don’t get opportunities, I think it’s important to focus and try to do the right things and not get frustrated because I don’t get opportunities, that’s how I felt about him.”
“As he was playing regularly for India, he was dropped just before the World Cup started. I wanted to tell him that it is a long tournament and interesting things have happened before. So I wanted to reassure him that your chance will come. It happened in a crucial match for India, he played with his eyes closed,” said Samson.
Sanju’s T20 World Cup 2026 so far
Samson became India’s new batting captain after returning to the side in the Super 8 stage clash against Zimbabwe. After his 97 against the West Indies, the wicketkeeper scored 89 in the semi-final to help India beat England and reach the final. Samson has scored 232 runs in four matches at an average of 77.33 with a strike rate of 201.73.