The Sri Lanka tour of July-August was the first assignment of India head coach Gautam Gambhir after he succeeded Rahul Dravid into the role earlier this year. It turned out to be a mixed tour for India as they won the T20I series 3-0 but lost the ODI series 0-2. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side completed a clean sweep in T20Is but for Sanju Samson it was a forgettable affair as he managed two ducks in a row.
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Despite the sorry show, Samson was persisted with for the next T20I assignment – against Bangladesh at home. He scored 29 in the series opener and followed that with 10 as India took a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
It won’t have been a surprising decision if India dropped Samson for the dead rubber in Hyderabad. However, the keeper-batter made the playing XI and knew it was a make-or-break game for him.
In an interview, Samson has admitted how after a couple of low scores, he was avoiding to the gaze of Gambhir.
In Hyderabad, the venue of the third T20I, Samson left behind the past disappointments with a spectacular century to power India to a record total of 297/6.
“A player’s relationship with his coach is quite important,” Samson told journalist Vimal Kumar in an interview on his YouTube channel. “When you get the coach’s backing, you want to repay the faith with performances. It was my wish to make him happy for all the chances I was being given. So when I was out early in one-odd match, I was trying to avoid eye-contact with him and waiting for my chance. So really happy when I struck a century and Gauti bhai was clapping for me.”
Samson says the tour of Sri Lanka was playing on his mind but over the years, he has learned how to handle the pressure by staying focused on the positives and the things under his control.
“There was pressure (to perform in Hyderabad),” Samson said. “Definitely thought about what happened in Sri Lanka, what will happen in the future, it’s quite normal to speculate.”
“Sometimes you do get lost in your thoughts even while batting you are under pressure. I have learned to handle pressure with experience and speaking to others. On the other hand, I knew these thoughts are pretty normal. I only focused on what I can do, the controllables and how well I can contribute for the team once set,” he added.
Samson made his international debut in 2015 when he was 20. He has since played in just 16 ODIs and 33 T20Is but the 29-year-old has no qualms.
“It’s been almost 10 years since my debut,” Samson said. Everybody has a different career trajectory. Some get chances quite early in their lives, some take time and then there are those who never get a chance. There are a lot of people who dream of playing for India, they work hard, score runs but dont’t get the chance. I was lucky that I made by debut for India at the age of 20. Since then it’s been on and off.”
“I understand that everyone’s life journey, career is different and my journey is unique too. I have always looked at the positive side and been grateful. The focus is on what’s in my hands and what’s going right. In my mind, I was confident of making it big one day. Finally, I played a really good innings for my country and it felt good,” he added.
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