“That Kind of Confidence From the Captain and Coach” – Sanju Samson on His T20I Revival Under Suryakumar Yadav and Gambhir

Sanju Samson has finally secured his spot in the T20I team. With loads of talent, he always had the potential to be one of India’s best, but his performances were too inconsistent, which held him back. He was often in and out of the team, but things began to change once Gautam Gambhir became the head coach and Suryakumar Yadav took over as the T20I captain. Slowly, everything started to click for Samson.

Samson was moved up to open the batting with Abhishek Sharma. While he didn’t make much of an impact in his first series against Sri Lanka, he bounced back strongly, scoring three centuries in the next series against Bangladesh and South Africa. In аn interview with R. Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Samson admitted he was feeling down after his poor performance in Sri Lanka, but captain Suryakumar Yadav’s encouraging words helped him regain his confidence.

Thankfully for Sаmson, the new T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav and head coach, Gautam Gambhir, believed in him. They had a clear plan for their time in charge and Samson was a key part of it.Samson shared how Suryakumar and Gambhir supported him and helped him make his way back into the team.

“So, suddenly, the change happened after the T20 World Cup. So Gautam bhai came in, and Surya came in as the captain. I was playing a Duleep Trophy game in Andhra. Surya was playing for the other team. He told me, ‘There is a good opportunity coming up for you. We have seven games lined up, and I am going to give you all seven games as an opener’,” said Samson.

The wicketkeeper had scored a fifty against Zimbabwe but then got out for two ducks against Sri Lanka. In 4 matches, he only managed 70 runs. Samson thought that might be the end for him and that he wouldn’t get another chance. Samson also shared that Gambhir told him he’d only be dropped if he scored 21 ducks. Those words gave him the confidence to push himself and perform better.

“The words coming out from the captain's mouth itself actually felt, Oh wow, great. I played two games in Sri Lanka but was unable to score runs. I was a bit down in the dressing room, and Gautam bhai came up to me and asked what had happened,” he added.

“I said, 'After a long time, I got a chance, but I failed to capitalise'. He said, 'So what? I'll drop you if you register 21 ducks'. That's the word which he used. That kind of confidence from the captain and the coach has definitely raised my confidence. That really helped me to go out there and perform,” Samson added.

This kind of belief was exactly what Samson needed. In the next 7 matches, he scored 3 centuries, two of them away from home. In fact, since his T20I return, no one has scored more runs than him. All of this was made possible because of the trust and support Suryakumar аnd Gambhir showed in him.

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