New Delhi: Indian men’s cricket team player Sanju Samson with the trophy during the BCCI Naman Awards 2026. (PTI Photo) Sanju Samson, standout performer and player of the tournament in India’s 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup win, admitted he is still reeling from the disbelief of winning the title on home soil. Still, he is confident that the constant influx of new talent in India will ensure more triumphs in the years to come.“Not yet, I still think when I get up in the morning, ‘it really happened’. So honestly, that’s the feeling. But I feel that in the coming years, with the quality of players we have in our country, it will happen again. The number of players coming to India will definitely do it more and more,” Samson told the awards ceremony in New Delhi on Sunday.Samson’s tournament performance was extraordinary. Despite not being part of India’s starting XI, he amassed 321 runs in just five innings at a strike rate close to 200. His innings included a match-winning 97* against West Indies in the Super Eight stage, followed by 89 in both the semi-final against England and the final against New Zealand.Samson reflected on his journey: “You can only dream of where you want to go, but you can’t definitely go there. So my life or my career has been one of the best examples. I definitely wanted to do it a few years ago. I want to win the World Cup for my country, but it had its own plan, its own script. So it’s more like a movie. I enjoyed it.“Like I said before, I wanted to do something like that, then I got knocked out of my way and then all of a sudden the team wanted me to contribute and that’s when I actually turned around a bit mentally… I think before, in the New Zealand series, the focus was just on me.”“But at the World Cup, the focus is on the team, what the team requires. And in the Zimbabwe game, from that point on, everyone wanted me to contribute. I had a role to play. So then there was a shift and a confidence that, okay, ‘the team needs you, Sanju’, and let’s do the best you can. So that’s where it all started.”“And then I had the experience, I worked mentally. I worked physically, so I knew I was ready and I knew it was meant for me, so I just had to do what I do best.”Samson’s story was not the only story of perseverance. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who joined the squad late as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana, described his journey to a second T20 World Cup medal as almost miraculous. “I wasn’t in the original squad, then I got it, played a game and now I’ve been part of two teams that have won the World Cup. I’d say it’s a miracle for me,” he said.
