In New Delhi, on March 11, India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, revealed the confidence that Sanju Samson displayed before his outstanding performance in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, where he became the tournament's Player of the Tournament. He recalled how Samson promised to contribute to the team's success whenever needed.
Samson's impressive performance followed India's 96-run victory over New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, securing their title defense. However, Samson's journey to this point wasn't easy; he scored 46 runs in five T20Is against New Zealand before the World Cup, and his place in the playing eleven was uncertain.
Samson began by playing in the group stage against Namibia in New Delhi, but Abhishek Sharma was sidelined due to a stomach illness. During the Super Eights, after a 76-run loss to South Africa, Samson was recalled to address a left-handed opening pair.
Samson responded with a dominant performance, scoring 97 not out in a crucial match against the West Indies before consecutive scores of 89 in the semi-final and final, helping India win their third Men’s T20 World Cup title.
"I always told Sanju, 'Sanju, you need to be prepared for any situation,' because injuries or form issues can arise unexpectedly. He's a very experienced player, and he understands this," Kotak said.
Kotak explained that the technical adjustments were made to create a stable base for Samson, allowing him to return to his natural strokeplay.
"We worked on his trigger movement and his stance to ensure he was stable. This allowed him to execute his shots effectively," Kotak explained.
Samson's technique required significant adjustments from the Indian team, especially with his trigger movement and being too deep in the crease.
After being an unused member in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup win, Samson ended up amassing 321 runs across just five innings in 2026 to finish as India’s leading scorer and surpass the 319-run mark of Virat Kohli in 2014, making him the most prolific Indian batter in a single edition of the tournament.
Samson also joined an elite club as only the third Indian to be named Player of the Tournament in a Men’s T20 World Cup after Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah.
Kotak also lauded head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav for maintaining faith in Samson’s ultra-attacking playing style. “A lot of credit to the selectors, Gautam and Sanju also as even after so much criticism, they kept their faith in him.
"Sanju has that much class as a batter because in this short format, where high risk, high reward cricket works, if someone goes through bad form, it's tough for the players too. It’s because they have to get going from ball one to hit sixes.
“At times, there comes a bit of mistiming or misjudgment and they get out. So that pressure again - it's not easy for the players. So for that, a lot of credit goes to the selectors, Gautam and Surya to keep that faith in Sanju.”
Seeing Samson get so much adulation and warmth from fans and cricketers worldwide in the aftermath of T20 World Cup triumph made Kotak go on a trip down the memory lane, when he first saw the wicketkeeper-batter during the India A series against South Africa in September 2019.
“See, Sanju is actually in the team’s leadership group because he was the captain of RR for so many years. His temperament and belief is known to all and also, I have known Sanju for a long time, but got a chance to work with him when he was with me in the India A team in 2019. He was in the last two matches of the series against South Africa. In the last match, it was a one-day game and it was a 20-over fixture because of the rain affecting the game.”
“In that, I sent him at number three in the game in Thiruvananthapuram. In 48 balls, he made some 90 (91) runs against a bowling attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Beuran Hendricks, Junior Dala and the captain of the South African team was Temba Bavuma. The way Sanju batted that day, I knew he had it in him to do something big in future.
“Then in 2023, when the senior team was preparing for the Test series in South Africa under Rahul Dravid bhai and other senior staff members, I became India's head coach for three ODI matches, where KL Rahul was the captain. I remember before the third match, he was batting in the back-end of the batting order.
“But Ruturaj (Gaikwad) had a fracture while catching in the slip in the second match and I thought Sanju is the best guy to be moved up. Then he scored a hundred against South Africa in Paarl and that was some innings to watch. As a batting coach, I know everything, but at the end of the day, the decision makers are blamed and get more criticism.
“So I will give as much credit to Gautam and Surya that they kept their faith in Sanju and we know how good he is and it felt great to see him deliver in those must-win games. What Sanju did was so, so important. In the last three matches, Sanju's maturity, fearless style and the shots he played were unbelievable,” concluded Kotak.