Sanju Samson turns redemption into reality, sheds decade-long inconsistency to power India into semifinals

Like Sunil Valson during the 1983 60-over World Cup, Sanju Samson endured the entire 2024 T20 World Cup without playing a single match. Valson was the lone member of Kapil Dev’s triumphant 1983 squad not to feature in a game. Samson, at least, had company — Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal also did not get a look-in as India used just 12 players in their unbeaten title run.

Nearly 20 months later, the 31-year-old from Thiruvananthapuram feared history might repeat itself. Under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, India were chasing another global crown, but a late surge from Ishan Kishan pushed Samson to the margins as reserve wicketkeeper-batter. With Kishan set to open alongside Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma and Suryakumar occupying key middle-order slots, Samson appeared destined for another ringside view.

When the tournament began, fate first teased him. Abhishek’s illness opened a brief window, and Samson smashed 22 off eight on debut against Namibia. But once Abhishek returned, Samson was back on the bench, resigned to watching the rest unfold.

From sidelines to centre stage

Destiny, however, had other plans. India repeatedly lost a left-handed opener early to off-spin, prompting a tactical rethink. Samson’s right-handed presence offered balance, and he was recalled. He started brightly, as he so often does, but past tournaments had been littered with promising beginnings and premature exits — a pattern that fuelled both admiration and frustration among his legion of supporters.

On Sunday night, those frustrations evaporated. Samson delivered the defining innings of his international career in a virtual quarterfinal against West Indies cricket team.

Led by Shai Hope, the Caribbean side posted 195 for four — a formidable total in a must-win clash with a semifinal against England cricket team at stake. India had never chased so many in a World Cup match. The pressure was immense.

Samson seemed oblivious to it. From the moment he launched 4, 6, 6 off Akeal Hosein in the third over, he entered that rare sporting “zone” where instinct overrides doubt. Calm amid early wickets and shifting equations, he anchored the chase with poise and purpose.

His unbeaten 97 — agonisingly short of a century — was a masterclass in pacing a pursuit. India were wobbling at 41 for two and later faced daunting equations, but Samson never betrayed anxiety. He trusted his range, picked his moments and ensured he was there at the finish.

When 17 were needed off 10 balls after Hardik Pandya’s dismissal, Samson remained unfazed. With clinical precision, he closed out the chase, sealing victory with a boundary that sent the crowd into delirium. Dropping to his knees in relief and gratitude, he soaked in the adulation — a cathartic release after years of near-misses and scrutiny.

The innings was no accident. Samson had laboured to fix technical flaws, particularly a pronounced trigger movement that once compromised his balance. Hard work in the nets, mental recalibration and tactical maturity converged on this night of redemption.

It may not have been a century on paper, but in significance, it was worth far more. For a player long trapped between promise and fulfilment, this was the knock that rewrote the narrative — and perhaps, just perhaps, the start of a new chapter.