Sanju Samson revealed that he was initially named in India’s starting lineup in the 2024 T20 World Cup final, however, a last-minute change in the think tank’s strategy led to him being dropped from the playing XI.
India clinched a memorable win over South Africa in a nail-biting encounter as they finally ended their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought.
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Samson did not play a single game in the entire competition as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opened the innings for the Men in Blue while the middle-order was stacked with established stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant.
However, in a recent interview with YouTuber Vimal Kumar, the Kerala-born cricketer claimed that he was supposed to play the final, however, the team management decided to keep the winning combination intact moments before announcing the final lineup.
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Samson said, “I had a chance to play the final. I was told to stay ready. I was ready. However, they decided before the toss that we would go with the same team. I was like, no worries. I was in that type of mood.
“During the warm-up, Rohit took me to the side and started to explain to me why he is making that decision. He was like, You understood, na? You know his way, very casual? I told him, ‘Let us win the match and then talk.’ You focus on the match.”
He added, “He came back one minute later and said, ‘I know you are cursing me in your mind.’ I think you are not happy. I feel like you have something on your mind. Then we had a discussion. I told him, ‘As a player, I want to play.’
“Since childhood, I wanted to come here and do something. Then he was like, ‘My pattern is like this’ and all that. I said I totally respect that you came and explained me. I said, ‘I will have a regret; I could not play a World Cup final with a leader like you.’ This will be a regret in my heart that I missed a World Cup final with a leader like Rohit Sharma. That will stay in my life.”
The Rajasthan Royals star further heaped praise on captain Rohit Sharma and lauded his leadership and his man-management skills.
He added, “After this, I thought, such a big thing like a World Cup final. Before the final, you have changed your decision. You spent 10 minutes with the player that is not playing just before the toss. He gave me 10 minutes before the toss. After that, I got to know this person has some other qualities.
“If I were in their place, I would be thinking about the players who are playing or my batting. I will explain to Sanju later; that is what normally you think. At that point, he thought ‘I have to explain to Sanju, why I took that decision.’ At that point, he won a place in my heart that will stay for a lifetime.”
The 29-year-old recently hit his maiden T20I century in the third and final match of the three-match series against Bangladesh as India completed a white-wash.
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