‘I like to go out and fail or succeed on my own terms,’ says Sanju Samson after knock against Bangladesh to end rut

There can be no better illustration of India’s core philosophy than Sanju Samson’s explosive knock at Hyderabad. He entered the final outing on the back of two failures, but it was the team cause which remained the top priority when he took strike.

Sanju Samson in action. | Photo Credit: K.R Deepak / The Hindu

When a batter is struggling for form, there is bound to be a temptation to play safe, accumulate runs at a middling strike-rate and ensure that a spot in the eleven is secured.

This approach, however, will not fly in this Indian team. The instructions are clear - play fearless, attacking cricket, even if means that the risk of individual failure is high.

Indeed, it is this template that powered India to the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title, and to the top of the ICC men’s T20I team rankings.

In the three-match T20I leg which concluded here on Saturday, Bangladesh felt the wrath of the Indian charge. The visitor was dominated from start to finish, giving India a seventh straight bilateral T20I home series win.

There can be no better illustration of India’s core philosophy than Sanju Samson’s explosive knock at Hyderabad. The wicketkeeper-batter entered the final outing on the back of two failures, but it was the team cause which remained the top priority when he took strike.

The 29-year-old kept up his slam-bang style to come good with a magnificent 47-ball 111. The match was won in the first ten overs, when Samson and captain Suryakumar Yadav took the total to a whopping 152 for one.

Samson has benefitted immensely from the backing he has received from the leadership group, especially after falling for a couple of ducks against Sri Lanka in the previous T20I series.

“A lot of credit must go to the captain and coach for backing me. After getting two ducks in Sri Lanka, I was doubtful if I will be picked in the next series. But they backed me no matter what,” Samson said in the post-match press conference here.

The Kerala cricketer had time to prepare for this opener role. “Around three weeks ago, I received a message from (head coach) Gautam (Gambhir) bhai, Suryakumar and (assistant coach) Abhishek Nayar that I will open the batting in this series. That gave me time for proper preparation. I went back to the Rajasthan Royals academy and faced many fast bowlers with new balls. The early communication from the management really helped. I came in an extra 10 per cent ready,” Samson said.

In many ways, Samson is a good fit for this team ethos. A highly skilled talent who sticks to his strengths no matter what, Samson represents the best of modern Indian cricketers.

“It can get very tricky when you are competing on the biggest stage. Representing India is not easy. When you have failures, it is easy to say ‘I’ll make some runs safely in the next game’. But I know my character. I like to go out and fail or succeed on my own terms. This is what I have stuck to ever since I started playing cricket,” Samson said.