"A necessary season for myself and everyone to become better cricketers" - Daniel Sams on MI's campaign in IPL 2022
Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Daniel Sams has stated that the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a learning curve for him and his teammates.
From conceding 35 runs in an over to defending nine runs, the Australian all-rounder improved as the tournament progressed.
Mumbai had a dismal start to their campaign, losing their first eight matches. They won four of their remaining six games but finished last in the points table.
Throwing light on their season, Sams stressed that they are excited about what's in store for next year. In a video shared by the Mumbai franchise, Daniel Sams said:
"There's been some good times around. We haven't quite performed the way that we've wanted to but we're excited for what's to come next year. I think a lot of us in this squad have had to learn and deal with a lot of stuff because of the way that we have performed, so I don't think it was the most ideal season, I see it as a necessary season for myself and for everyone to become better cricketers, better people."
Sams ended IPL 2022 with 13 wickets in 11 matches with best figures of 4/30 and scored 38 runs. The 29-year-old was happy to have an impact on the team's performance in the second half of the league.
He added:
"Working on myself a little bit and coming back and being able to perform and have an impact for the team is probably one of my prouder moments of my career."
Sams was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) set-up last year. He was acquired for ₹2.6 crore by Mumbai Indians at the mega auction earlier this year.
"This tournament has really helped me to build another layer" - Daniel Sams
The New South Wales cricketer also expressed that the last two months of gruelling cricket have helped him add a layer or two to his game, making him a better cricketer.
Daniel Sams said:
"We talked about skills and execution and stuff a lot, I think the one thing that has developed again for me is mental skills and I think this tournament has really helped me to build another layer or maybe more than one layer. On top of that, just going through tough performances, how you bounce back responding to those performances."
He added:
"How you think about yourself, what you're thinking about when you're going to the next game, there have been challenges that I've had to overcome in this tournament."
Daniel Sams is currently seen in the ongoing T20 Blast plying trade for Essex.