Indian Sanju Samson (ANI Image)
Sanju Samson capped an impressive campaign in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by winning the Player of the Tournament award after playing a crucial role in the Indian national cricket team’s title win.Samson finished the tournament with 321 runs, an exceptional achievement considering he only played five matches in the competition. The 31-year-old was not part of India’s XI at the start of the tournament and was drafted into the squad after India lost to the South Africa national cricket team. From that moment on, the wicket-keeper-batsman produced a string of match-winning performances.
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His campaign was highlighted by three successive half-centuries in the most crucial stages of the tournament.
Samson debuted a brilliant unbeaten 97 against the West Indies cricket team in a virtual quarter-final, to lead India to victory in a tense chase. He followed it up with 89 in the semi-final against the England cricket team and then scored another 89 in the final against the New Zealand cricket team.The Indian batsman also rewrote several records during the tournament. Samson smashed 24 sixes, the most by any player in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.
His 89 in the final is now the highest individual score in a T20 World Cup final, surpassing the previous best scores of 85 not out by Marlon Samuels in 2016 and 85 by Kane Williamson in 2021.Samson’s tally of 321 runs is also the highest by an Indian batsman in a single T20 World Cup, surpassing Virat Kohli’s record of 319 runs during the 2014 tournament.His consistency also placed him among the elite group of players who have scored half-centuries in both the semi-finals and finals of the T20 World Cup.
Before Samson, only Shahid Afridi in 2009 and Virat Kohli in 2014 had achieved the feat.Speaking after receiving the award, Samson spoke about the journey that led to the defining championship of his career.“It feels like a dream. So happy and grateful. No words, no emotions. [On his three fifties, thought process] To be honest, it started a year or two ago. When I was in the 2024 World Cup squad where I didn’t play, I kept imagining, I kept working and that was exactly what I wanted to do.
After the NZ series I was shattered, my dreams were completely shattered. I was thinking what can I do. But God had different plans.
I was rewarded for being brave enough to dream. “A lot of former players have reached out to me and tried to help me.”“For the past two months, I have been in constant touch with Sachin sir. I have communicated with him and had great conversations with him. I got guidance from someone like him, what more can you ask for? I am very grateful to everyone who supported me. [What more does he want to achieve?] “This in itself is a very big thing for me. I want to enjoy it now and in a few days I will figure out what to do.”