India’s Sanju Samson (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra) Constantly under scrutiny and often questioned about his place in the side, Sanju Samson described his winning night as the moment he had always dreamed of – a reward for years of faith through uncertainty and self-doubt.“It means the world to me actually. I think since the day I started playing, I started dreaming of playing for the country, I think this is the day I’ve been waiting for. And I’m very grateful, very grateful,” Sanju said after his definitive knock.
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He reflected on his journey and acknowledged the internal battles that accompanied his rise.“And I’ve always had a very strange journey with a lot of ups and downs, but I still doubted myself, I kept thinking what if, what if, I can do it, I can do it? But I still believed and I thank the Lord almighty that he actually blessed me today. So I’m very happy.”Sanju credited years of experience with the format — both playing and watching — for shaping his understanding of how to handle pressure situations.“Yes, I think that’s why I’ve been playing this format for a very long time. I think I’ve been playing IPL for about 10 to 12 years and I’ve been playing for the country for the last 10 years, not playing but watching from the trenches, learning from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma, like all the greats.”He emphasized the importance of observation and learning even in phases when he was not a regular XI player.“I think it’s very important to watch and learn and see what they’ve done. I think that’s really helped me, I think with my experience I’ve only played maybe 50, 60 games, but I’ve seen about 100 games and I’ve seen how the best guys finish games and how they change their game from game to game.”Sanju explained the contrast between different match situations and highlighted how adaptability is key in T20 cricket.“So I think in the last game we batted first so it was all about setting up a very high score. So that’s how I wanted to go big right from the first ball. But this game was completely different. I think as soon as I wanted to go a little bit higher we were losing wickets. So I think I wanted to build a partnership, I wanted to continue to focus on my progress.”He insisted that he was not chasing milestones, but was simply focusing on his role.“And I never felt like I was going to do something special like this, but I just focused on my role and kept one ball at a time and was very grateful. I think this is one of the greatest days of my life.”Sanju also admitted that despite the crowd’s support and momentum, doubts can creep in.“Yeah, they definitely bring a lot of energy and they bring a lot of support. But on the other hand, I think there’s always the question of what if they don’t? So it definitely doesn’t stop playing in your mind.”His solution, he explained, was to stay grounded in the present.“But as the thought kept coming, I just got into the moment and just looked at the ball and trusted myself to respond on the merits of the ball. So I think it went pretty well today.”
