Follow UsFor the longest time, Sanju Samson was viewed as the ‘next big thing’ in Indian cricket.
But that never came to fruition, as the right-hander was always in and out of the Indian setup. However, all of that changed in December 2023, when the right-hander smashed a stroke-filled 108 against a strong South African setup in Paarl.
Since then, Samson has transformed his game to a different level, with three T20I centuries, two of them coming in South Africa and one coming at home against Bangladesh. Not just that, the right-hander has now become a regular starter in India’s T20I scheme of things.
In an interview, Samson revealed how that 108, where he hit six fours and three sixes, transformed his career.
“I think that was getting my first international hundred in South Africa. I was in and out of the side, playing a few games here and there. I knew deep down that I was good enough to play at the international level, the biggest stage cricket has ever seen. But until you prove it to people, you don’t get acceptance” Sanju told on the Sports Cast podcast.
“After that hundred, I don’t know what people were saying, but in my own head, I was totally convinced that yes, Sanju, you are made for this level. That was the moment when a lot of things changed internally,” he added.
Prior to that contest, Samson had scored just 12 runs in the series and failed in the second ODI. With talks of the right-hander getting dropped, the Kerala man transformed his career with that century.
It was a series decider, and I knew if I didn’t perform, I could be dropped. So when I scored that challenging hundred, I told myself, if you can do this, you are meant for something even bigger.”
“After that, I went into the IPL, scored 500-600 runs, got into the T20 World Cup squad, and started scoring centuries. That was my turning point.”
Samson was ignored from India’s ODI setup for the tour Down Under, with fellow Rajasthan Royals teammate Dhruv Jurel preferred over him.