Sanju Samson and Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh revealed how a crucial conversation with Sanju Samson helped shape the wicket-keeper’s transformation, especially during a difficult phase in his career.Speaking on a podcast with Sports Tak, Yuvraj spoke about Samson’s struggles, stating that a series of failures forced the batsman to rethink his approach.
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Sanju Samson opens his T20 World Cup journey and wins the title
“Coming to Sanju Samson, who had failed in 8-10 innings, he was going through failure. This is where I have to say, I need to change something. Sanju had reached that stage where he felt he had not found a place in the line-up. He had scored two hundreds in South Africa, so I felt… The conversation I had with him happened in 2024 when India won the World Cup in Barbados. In that World Cup, Sanju was not playing. I was watching his batting. For 2-3 seasons IPL.
“I told him we’d talk whenever he had time.”Yuvraj highlighted a major technical flaw that he believes is holding Samson back.“So my problem with Sango was that you have to improve your footwork. If you don’t improve your footwork, you will constantly get into trouble. Scoring goals or not scoring goals is different, but you have to improve your movement. I gave him some ideas on how to improve it.”While the initial results did not change immediately, Yuvraj noticed a clear improvement as Samson spent more time at the crease in high-pressure matches.
“Then he played, and he didn’t do well, but then he got another chance. I felt in the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final, the more balls he faced, his foot kept improving. The more time he spent on the wicket, the better his foot got. So I felt like he obviously did something in his training.”Yuvraj also spoke about the nature of the game and how one run can change momentum and confidence.“Cricket is such a game, where one run can take you up or down. The game keeps you balanced in life, that’s what I’ve learned.
I am so happy for Sanju. He played for many years and had an amazing World Cup. “He is a very good boy and I am very happy for his success.”Samson’s performance in the 2026 T20 World Cup is supported by Yuvraj’s remarks. Although he played only five matches, he emerged as India’s top run-scorer and was named Player of the Tournament.In the final, Samson smashed a stunning knock of 89 off 45 balls, giving India a flying start and setting the tone for the title.
His innings is now the highest individual score in a T20 World Cup final, surpassing Marlon Samuels’ unbeaten 85 in 2016 and Kane Williamson’s 85 in 2021.The 31-year-old also rewrote the record books with six strokes, smashing 24 sixes in the tournament – the most in a single edition, surpassing Finn Allen’s previous mark of 20.
reconnaissance
Do you think Sanju Samson’s improved footwork was the key to his success in the T20 World Cup?
Consistency became Samson’s calling card as he scored a half-century, scoring 97* in a virtual quarter-final and 89 each in the semi-final and final, joining an elite list that includes Shahid Afridi and Virat Kohli, who also scored fifties in both the semi-final and final.He also matched the record of most consecutive fifty-plus scores in a T20 World Cup, with three in a row, alongside names like Mahela Jayawardene, Kohli, Babar Azam, KL Rahul, Kusal Mendis and Sahibzada Farhan.In doing so, Samson also became the highest-scoring Indian in a single edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, surpassing Kohli’s long-standing tally of 319 runs since 2014.