Samson Reveals How He Overcame T20 WC Selection Pressure

Indian cricketer Sanju Samson reveals that the pressure to secure a spot in the T20 World Cup squad negatively impacted his performance in the preceding series, but he has since rediscovered his form through hard work and support.

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Opener Sanju Samson on Thursday conceded that the thought of cementing his place in India's playing 11 for the T20 World Cup forced him to overreach in the preceding home T20I series against New Zealand, leading to a string of low-scores.

Samson misfired against the Kiwis, as Ishan Kishan overtook him and opened with Abhishek Sharma initially in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

But the Kerala batter was brought back to break the sequence of left-handers in the eleven, and he repaid the management's trust with two half-centuries in a row, with the latest being a fluent match-winning 89 off only 42 balls against England here in the semi-finals.

"I think that was very challenging for me. I definitely wanted to come and do what I am trying to do now for the country, contribute and win games in the (T20) World Cup," Samson, who had also made an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies in the previous match, told reporters in the post-match press meet.

"But I think I was trying a bit too much in the New Zealand series. I wanted to make an impact and get into the (playing) eleven of the World Cup here," he added.

"But I think this cricket (T20s) can get very funny. Even the best in the world actually struggle to score runs in this format," he added. 

'Not on social media'

Samson said going back to his basics and putting in the hard yards along with connecting with the people who are close to him helped in finding his best.

"I had to respect the game. I had to come back to my basics, work a bit more from my basics. I think a lot of work did go really well," he said.

"When hard times were coming, I think my close people, the people whom I love, whom I support, they were with me and I closed all my windows, I (even) shut down my phone. I was not in social media.

"I am still not in social media. So, less noise, less people interacting with me. That really helped me to focus on the right direction and I am very happy how I am doing," Samson said.

Brook Regrets Dropped Catch

Meanwhile, England skipper Harry Brook, who grassed Samson when he was on 15 off Jofra Archer, rued the missed opportunity.

"Yeah, catches win matches, don't they? Unfortunately, it didn't stay in my hands and yeah, it's just one of those things. Unfortunately, I didn't catch it and he played very, very good innings as well and arguably won them (India) the game," Brook told the media.

"Obviously, it's in the back of your mind (as the game goes on). I kept on looking at the scoreboard and he was piling the runs on. I was like, 'I'm going to have to get (an) 80 or 90 tonight. (It is) not ideal, but it's happened now," he added.