Sanju Samson On Outside Noise: “I Wouldn’t Play How I Do If It Affected Me”

Over the past few months, the player-of-the tournament at this year’s T20 world cup, Sanju Samson has been under immense pressure and scrutiny by the media and former players for his performance every time he steps on to the field wearing India jersey. The wicket-keeper batter who scored 321 runs in five innings and led India to world cup glory was at the peak of his form and he was lauded by one and all.

But, three months later, during India’s tour to England and Ireland, both of which India lost, a string of low-scoring innings by him and he was suddenly deemed to be a liability for the team. He was even benched from the squad, which paved way for the much-awaited debut of the teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the England tour. And although he made a comeback to the team in the fifth and final T20, he was eventually omitted for the Zimbabwe series.

The Kerala batter’s topsy-turvy ride with the India team hasn’t halted. During the first T20I of the on-going series against Afghanistan, he got out early but made a strong comeback and he made a statement in the second T20I on Tuesday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The 31-year-old, known for his attacking style of play, unleashed a brutal assault on the Afghani bowlers right from the get go, scoring a blistering 57 off just 22 balls in a chase of 160.

After the game, Samson spoke with refreshing candour and endearing wit and he showed no resentment or surprise about the things and recent developments happening around his selection in the team and his overall career. He said, “After a few failures, you definitely go through a lot as an Indian cricketer. It is not easy to face failures. But that is where experience comes in. I try to shout out the noise and still try to keep scoring at a high strike rate.”

When asked, at a time when social media is all-pervasive, how does he stay immune to the outside noise? He replied, “I try to switch-off the wi-fi. But sometimes the wi-fi switches on and the comments of some former players crop up. It is their choice to say what they want to say. I have become mature and experienced enough to handle that it does not affect me. We are not robots. But I try to be clear. If I was affected by the noise, I wouldn’t be able to play the way I do. Before every attacking shot, I would be thinking 10 times.”