Sanju Samson won the T20 World Cup 2024 with the India cricket team earlier in the year, but his contribution was carrying drinks for his teammates throughout the tournament. Team India remained undefeated throughout the mega event and hardly made any changes to their XI. It wasn’t just Samson, but even Yuzvendra Chahal and Yashasvi Jaiswal warmed the bench during the month-long competition.
The ‘final’ disappointment
It turns out that Samson had a chance to play, and that too directly in the Final against South Africa. The keeper has revealed that he was told by captain Rohit Sharma to be ready for the match. However, just moments before the game started, he was told that Rishabh Pant was going to keep his place.
“I had a chance to play the final. I was told to stay ready, and I was ready. But just before the toss, they decided to stick with the same XI. During warm-ups, Rohit took me aside to explain the decision. He asked, ‘You understood, na?'” Samson told Vimal Kumar during an interview. “I told him, ‘Let’s focus on winning the match first; we can talk later.'”
Samson’s regret
Seeing Samson visibly shattered by the decision, Rohit returned momentarily. “He said, ‘I know you’re cursing me in your mind.’ I told him that as a player, I wanted to play. It had been my dream to perform in such moments. Rohit explained his pattern and the reasons behind the decision. I told him I respected his explanation, but I will always carry a regret—that I missed playing a World Cup final under a leader like him,” Samson recalled.
The regret would definitely stay with Samson because Pant failed to score, recording a 2-ball duck. That moment can’t come back, but the keeper batter from Kerala will every once in a while ruminate about the missed opportunity and how he could have contributed to winning the World Cup for India.
Respect for Rohit Sharma
Samson opened up how captain Rohit’s gesture touched him. “I thought, in such a high-pressure moment like a World Cup final, the captain would usually focus on the game or the players who are playing. But Rohit took 10 minutes to explain his decision to me before the toss, and then he went for the toss. That gesture won him a place in my heart forever,” he added.
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