Indian wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson was long due for a big knock in his career. Despite showing promises and possessing an extraordinary talent, he has always been on the fringes of the team ever since his debut in 2015.
But two back-to-back centuries in his recent T20Is have seemingly made him a sure shot in the Indian T20I team now. His playing position in the Indian team has been mostly scattered but he has now starred in the opening position from the Bangladesh T20Is. Samson slammed a century in the third T20I against Bangladesh and then in his very next game against South Africa to become the first-ever Indian batter with centuries in consecutive T20I innings.
Samson has now revealed how T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav had backed him and what message he gave him while they were playing in the Duleep Trophy. "When I was playing Duleep Trophy, in the second match, Surya was playing for the other team and during the match itself, he told Chetta, 'agla 7 match tera hai', (you are going to play next 7 matches), you are going to open the innings in the next 7 games. Whatever happens, I will fully back you," Samson revealed to Jio Cinema after the first T20I against South Africa.
"I got so much clarity after that. For the first time in my career, I got such clarity that I have 7 matches, so I came out with a different determination. I had to do something different. If you get such clarity and confidence from the captain, then it reflects differently on the ground as well. The team management gave me that clarity way ahead that 7 matches (3 vs Bangladesh and 4 vs South Africa) I will be opening. I am not looking too far. Just looking to contribute to the team's cause," he added.
Samson reveals his battle with self-doubt but Surya and head coach helped him
The Indian wicketkeeper has also stated that the string of failures early in his career made him doubt his ability but the support of captain Surya and coach Gautam Gambhir helped him. "I have faced a lot of failures in my career. I think when you go through that failure, you have a lot of doubts in your mind. People definitely say that social media definitely plays a role," Samson told reporters in the post-match press conference.
"But you also think a lot about yourself. Sanju, are you not made for the international level? I think you are doing well in IPL. Why are you not doing well internationally? So I have a lot of such thoughts. But after so many years of experience, I know what my ability is.
"If I spend some time in the wicket, then I have a shot-making ability in spin and pace and I know that I can definitely contribute well to the team. I can win the match. This is also a reality. There are definitely a lot of downs happening but the upside is also really good. So I kept telling myself that," he said.
He stated that he had received a lot of phone calls from Gambhir and Surya on what area he needed to work on. When you have a supporting captain like Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam bhai and VVS Laxman sir, they all support you during failures. The way they communicate with you in your failures is very important. Everyone knows that if we are going through a negative phase, then the player can get lost there," he said.
"So at that time, I received a lot of phone calls from Gautam bhai and Surya, telling me what to work on. Your spin is a little bit like that. You collect all the spinners in Kerala and practice in rough wickets there. You do this, you do that.
"So if your Indian team's captain is calling you and telling you how to practice after a duck, then you have confidence that the captain is trusting you. He wants you to do well. So I think all those small, small things plays a huge role, I think, coming back here," Samson said.
