'Has it really happened?': Sanju Samson still in disbelief after India’s T20 World Cup win

Sanju Samson, the standout performer and Player of the Tournament successful India’s 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup victory, admitted helium inactive wakes up successful disbelief astatine winning the rubric connected location soil. Yet, helium is assured that India’s continuous watercourse of emerging endowment ensures much triumphs successful the years ahead.“Not yet, I americium inactive like, erstwhile I get up successful the morning, I'm like, 'has it truly happened'. So honestly, that's the feeling. But I consciousness that successful the coming years, with the prime of players we person successful our country, this is going to beryllium repeated. The fig of players who are coming up successful India is decidedly going to bash this much and much often,” Samson told broadcasters astatine the BCCI awards successful New Delhi connected Sunday.

Samson’s tourney show was extraordinary. Despite not being portion of India’s starting XI, helium amassed 321 runs successful conscionable 5 innings astatine a onslaught complaint approaching 200.

His innings included a match-winning 97* against West Indies successful the Super Eight stage, followed by 89 successful some the semi-final against England and the last versus New Zealand.Reflecting connected his journey, Samson said, “You tin lone imagination wherever you privation to go, but you can't decidedly thrust the way towards it. So my beingness oregon my vocation has been 1 of the champion examples. I decidedly wanted to bash this a mates of years ago. I privation to triumph a World Cup for my country, but it had its ain plan, its ain script.

So, it's much similar a movie. I enjoyed it.“As I said before, I wanted to bash thing similar this, past I got pulled retired of my journey, and past suddenly, the squad wanted maine to contribute, and that's erstwhile I really mentally flipped a bit… I think, earlier that, successful the New Zealand series, the absorption was each astir me.“But successful the World Cup, the absorption is each astir the team, what the squad requires. And successful the Zimbabwe game, close from that moment, everyone wanted maine to contribute.

I had a relation to play. So that's erstwhile the displacement happened and the assurance that, okay, 'the squad needs you, Sanju', and let's bash what you tin to the best. So that's wherever everything started from.“And past I had the experience, I was moving mentally. I was moving physically, truthful I knew that I was ready, and I knew that this was meant for me, truthful I conscionable had to bash what I cognize best.”Samson’s communicative was not the lone 1 of perseverance. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who joined the squad precocious arsenic a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana, described his travel to a 2nd T20 World Cup medal arsenic astir miraculous. “I was not successful the archetypal squad, past I got it, played a game, and present I person been portion of 2 World Cup-winning squads. I would accidental it's a occurrence for me,” helium said.