IND vs BAN: Sanju Samson reveals how he thrived after 3 weeks of leadership group attention

India batsman Sanju Samson revealed that he was given 3 weeks notice that he would open for India in the T20I series against Bangladesh. In the post-match press conference after India’s incredible third T20I win, Samson spoke about the clarity of the role given to him by the Indian leadership group that helped him be better prepared for the 3 game series.

The Rajasthan Royals captain revealed that after his twin ducks against Sri Lanka, the Indian team backed him to the hilt, despite lingering doubts over his position in the T20I set-up. Samson said that after hearing the opening spot, he went straight to the RR academy where he practiced against the new ball to prepare for his role.

“Three weeks before the series, I was lucky enough to get a message from the leadership group. I think Surya, Gautam bhai and Abhishek Nayar told me three weeks ago that I would be opening. That gave me some kind of proper preparation. I went go there. Back at the Royals Academy in Rajasthan, I played a lot of new bowlers, I definitely came 10 per cent more prepared in this series than in any other series,” Samson told the post-match press conference.

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Samson thanked the Indian team’s leadership group, led by Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir, as they backed him despite his failures with the national set-up. Samson said it was easy to fall into a trap of playing with selfish motivations and scoring some “personal runs” without caring about the effect it might have on the team.

“I had a bit of a doubt after a couple of ducks in Sri Lanka about whether I would get a chance in the next series. But they backed me and kept saying, ‘We’ll support you no matter what’. We’re committed as a batting group to dominate each and every bowling unit of the opposition,” said Samson.

“It can be very difficult when you are competing on the big stage of cricket. Playing for India, it is not easy. When you have those failures, you can easily go back and say, ‘ok, mein apne liye thoda run bana letha hoon’ .I’ll score some runs for myself.) But I like to be myself, I know who I am as a person, as a character, it’s all about my friends, it’s all about my team.

Samson finished the series as the top runner. Samson, courtesy his century in the final T20I finished with 150 runs from 3 matches. The batsman had started in the first two games, but had not been able to convert them into a big score.