Sanju Samson’s father Samson Viswanath revealed that he made sure his son followed the batting styles of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid during his childhood. In an interview with India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, Viswanath explained that he deliberately exposed Samson only to the techniques and approaches of the two Indian greats when he was learning the game.
Samson recently enjoyed a stellar campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup where was named player of the tournament after India won their third title. The right-hander finished as the third highest run-scorer in the tournament, amassing 321 runs in five matches at an impressive average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37, including three half-centuries.
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“When Sanju started batting, he used the styles of Sachin Sir and Dravid Sir. When he was just four years old, we never showed him anyone else’s batting. I used to coach them, but whenever we watched batting together, we watched Dravid Sir or Sachin Sir’s innings. I told the kids, ‘Look at how these two great Indian cricketers play’ and how they use their bats.” That’s what they learned to follow,” said Samson’s father.
#Exclusive | Sanju Samson’s father, Samson Vishwanath, in an interview with @sardesairajdeepsays he is very happy with his son’s performance in the last three matches, calling it ‘class cricket’.
He also recalls how early he discovered talent in his sons and trained them, pic.twitter.com/d7f6wHv8Cu— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) March 9, 2026
“HE LOOKED CALM, NO TENSION”
Samson’s father said his son played with absolute class, poise and freedom against the West Indies, England and New Zealand, hitting the ball cleanly in every innings. He noted that this is how Samson played as a child, although his style has changed in recent years. His father often encouraged him to return to his natural, instinctive way of batting, and during this period Samson had to face criticism and ridicule as he struggled to regain his old form.
“He just completed three innings and it was pure class – absolutely first-class cricket. There was not a single stroke where the ball didn’t come off his bat properly. He looked absolutely calm, unstressed and bowled very cleanly. He played every ball with great freedom in all three innings,” said Samson.
“That’s exactly how he played as a kid. He hasn’t played like that in the last few years. I’ve told him many times to go back to his old style, to go back to the way he used to play, but he didn’t always listen. When people mocked him, he had to hear all the criticism,” Samson added.
Samson entered the T20 World Cup after a disappointing T20I series against New Zealand, where he managed just 46 runs in five matches at an average of 9.20, putting his place in the World Cup squad in doubt. However, he bounced back strongly, reclaiming his place and scoring three consecutive half-centuries in the tournament.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
09 March 2026 14:22 IST
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