"My phone is off from last 2-3 months" - Sanju Samson opens up on the extra efforts he put in for T20 World Cup selection
Team India keeper-batter Sanju Samson has revealed that he has stayed away from his phone for the last 2-3 months, as he solely wanted to focus on cricket, with the aim of clinching a berth in the T20 World Cup squad. The Kerala player's effort bore fruit, as he was named in the 15-member India squad for the ICC event.
Samson has had a stop-start international career. Having made his debut in 2015, he has been in and out of the white-ball squads. However, following a stellar show in the recently concluded IPL, he was named as one of the keeper-batters in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
In a video on Star Sports, the 29-year-old opened up on all the hard work that has gone behind his selection for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and the United States from June 1 to June 29. Admitting that he knew he had to do something special to get picked, Samson said:
"It (World Cup selection) was very emotional one. It was something which I didn't expect much actually to be very honest. I knew that I was not very close to being selected. I knew that I had to do something really special in this IPL to get there. That's where I decided. I have to put my phone away. I think I am totally cut out from my phone. My phone is off from last 2-3 months.
"I have to completely focus on my game. I have to completely give myself the best chance to go out there and perform and win games for my team, so that it can help me get into the Indian team for the World Cup. Getting selected to the world's best T20 team and that also for a World Cup actually deserves something special," the Indian stumper went on to add.
Leading Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024, Samson hammered 531 runs in 15 innings at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.47. He finished as the fifth-leading run-getter in the tournament.
"I really feel that I can contribute well" - Samson confident of good show in T20 World Cup
Getting selected for the World Cup is one thing, but performing on the big stage is something totally different. Samson, though, is confident that having cleared the selection hurdle, he could be of great use to the team in the upcoming ICC event.
"I knew I had it in me. It's all about believing in my own self, believing that things can change, believing that if I do justice to my own talent, to my own potential. …
"I think I can be really useful for my country as well on the world's biggest stage. I think I am ready for it and I really feel that I can contribute well for my country," the RR skipper asserted.
Samson has played 16 ODIs and 25 T20Is for India, scoring 510 and 374 runs respectively at an average of 56.66 and 18.70. He has a strike rate of 133.09 in T20Is.