How did Sanju Samson rectify his glaring mistake ahead of T20 World Cup? Yuvraj Singh Lifts the Lid

Sanju Samson's phenomenal run in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will go down as one of the great comeback stories in Indian cricket. After sitting out the first two games of the tournament, the wicket-keeper batter delivered a masterclass when it mattered most.

He hammered a historic hat-trick of half-centuries in the business end of the tournament smashing an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies, 89 against England in the semi-final, and another 89 against New Zealand to guide India to the title.

But behind this extraordinary performance lies a story of quiet mentorship, technical tweaks, and some blunt advice from the legendary all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.

Just before the 2026 World Cup, photos of Samson training with Yuvraj surfaced on social media.

While Samson later credited these training sessions as "very helpful," the actual backstory traces back much earlier.

Speaking to Sports Tak, Yuvraj revealed that he had been closely monitoring Samson's game and noticed a glaring technical issue that was holding him back: his footwork.

"Sanju had reached that stage where he felt he was not finding a place in the XI," Yuvraj explained.

"The conversation I had with him happened in 2024 when India won that World Cup in Barbados. I had been watching his batting for 2-3 IPL seasons. I told him we would speak whenever he had time. So my issue with Sanju was, you have to improve your footwork. "

For a player of Samson's natural caliber, timing and talent were never the question. However, Yuvraj stressed that without foundational footwork, consistency at the international level would be impossible to maintain. The two-time World Cup winner didn't mince words when advising the batter.

"If you don't improve your footwork, you will consistently land in trouble. Scoring runs or not is different, but you have to improve your footwork. I gave him some ideas on how to improve it," Yuvraj revealed.

The Turning Point for the T20 World Cup 2026

The results of that hard work were evident on the biggest stage. Samson looked far more assured at the crease during the 2026 campaign, moving decisively and dominating world-class bowling attacks. Yuvraj himself noticed the clear upgrade in the batter's technique as the tournament progressed.

"The more time he spent on the wicket, his footwork improved. So I felt obviously he must have done something in his practice," he added.

Currently playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, Samson hasn't made the best of starts with just 13 runs in two matches, and the CSK fans will be hoping for better outings from their 'Chettan' in the upcoming matches.