Former India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has spoken candidly about a moment involving Sanju Samson that left a lasting impression on him, describing how his teammate's response to a difficult selection period reshaped his understanding of selflessness in professional cricket.
Samson went on to win the Player of the Tournament award at the 2026 T20 World Cup, finishing as India's leading run-scorer with 321 runs. The wicketkeeper-batter averaged 80.25 and struck at 199.38 across five innings, with his
most important contributions coming in three consecutive knockout matches against West Indies, England and New Zealand. Samson described his World Cup campaign as 'like a dream', a sentiment that carried extra weight given the turbulent path he had taken to reach that stage of the tournament.
Although Samson finished third overall on the tournament's run charts behind Pakistan's Sahibzada Farhan and a New Zealand batter, his contributions in the knockout rounds were the most consequential of any batter in the competition. His stats underlined how consistently he delivered when India needed it most.
Why did Suryakumar Yadav's respect for Samson grow so much?
What made Samson's tournament performance even more remarkable was the dip in form he had gone through earlier in the year. Suryakumar recalled the backdrop to that period, explaining how a strong domestic season from Ishan Kishan had complicated selection decisions ahead of the World Cup. It was during this uncertain stretch that Suryakumar had a frank conversation with Samson while the two were travelling together on the team bus. The exchange stayed with him long after the tournament ended.
"Then came the 2026 New Zealand series where he [Samson] wasn't scoring runs, but Ishan had a fantastic domestic season. So after that, I thought, 'Alright, no problem, let's play all three of them and let Tilak bat flexibly.' In that series, Ishan batted exactly the way I expected someone to bat at number three, walking in at 5/2 or 6/2 and taking the attack on. Sanju experienced a bit of a dip there. We were sitting on the team bus discussing it, and I said, 'Chetta, it looks like it's going to be difficult the way things are going," Suryakumar said, as quoted by Cricket News.
He said only one thing to me: 'Bhau, take whatever call you feel is right to help this team win the World Cup. Whenever you need me, I'm right here. I will prepare exactly as if I'm playing. Hearing that gave me so much confidence at that time. It showed me the kind of people who exist in life," he said. "Someone else might have argued, 'I've been performing for so long and scored so many runs, why aren't you playing me?' But his thinking was the exact opposite. His mindset was simply: take whatever call is the right call to win the World Cup," he added.
What did Samson's return and Player of the Tournament award mean to Suryakumar?
When Samson was brought back into the side during the tournament after his earlier dip in form, he was in a state of complete readiness, a direct result of the preparation mindset he had committed to during that bus conversation. His match-winning knocks across the knockout stages proved decisive as India lifted the title. Suryakumar did not hold back in expressing how much his admiration for Samson had grown by the time the tournament concluded.
"Later, when that dip came during the tournament, and he was brought in, he was completely ready to seize that opportunity. To come into the side midway through the tournament, play the final, win the World Cup for India, and become the Player of the Tournament, the respect I had for him went even higher. As I always say, good things happen to good people, and he is a good man," Suryakumar said.
