Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 9 : Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson revealed how the T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir backed him as an opener, saying that the Mumbai Indians (MI) superstar offered him the opening slot, which changed the course of his career as he smashed three centuries in quick succession.
Sanju was speaking on former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel on Saturday.
Speaking during the video, Samson revealed the nature of his mixed career with Team India. Before he started opening in Sri Lanka, Samson had played just 28 T20Is for India since his debut in 2015 as a teenager.
"Being on and off the team was happening for a long time, then honestly, it was not easy, Anna. It was not easy to have those kinds of feelings... I had already played some eight-nine years of international cricket, and I had just played 15 games. I was there, and I was not there. I was there, and I was not there. And I always tried to keep myself in a positive frame of mind. I kept assuring myself that it would happen, and different people have different journeys. Your journey is different. Respect that, and be mindful of that, and you will get there whenever you are meant to be," said Samson.
The 30-year-old revealed that when he was playing Duleep Trophy last year, Suryakumar offered him a chance to open, with a heavy T20I season lined up ahead, starting from matches in Sri Lanka. However, he was not off to a good start as an opener, scoring ducks in his first two outings.
"The change happened after the World Cup. Gautam bhai came in, and then Surya came in as the Captain. I was playing a Duleep Trophy game in Andhra. Surya was playing on the other team. That is where Surya told me, 'Chetta, there is a huge opportunity coming up for you. We have seven games lined up' 'And I am going to give you all seven games as an opener' I was like, 'super da...' Seven games! Hearing it from the Captain's mouth itself... That felt great. And then I played two games in Sri Lanka, after that I was out for ducks in both the matches. The memories of being in and out of the team started flooding in, and I thought that was it," recalled Samson.
Samson recalled that coach Gambhir offered him a lot of backing and words of encouragement, recalling the head coach telling him that he would be dropped only on scoring "21 ducks".
"I was a bit down, that is when Gauti bhai saw me, he came up to me and asked what happened - I told him that I did not capitalise on the chances I got - and he was like 'So? I will remove you from the team only if you scored 21 ducks - that kind of confidence from Captain & coach helped me to do what I did later on," said Samson.
In the upcoming matches against Bangladesh and South Africa, Samson used his chances well, scoring three centuries within a matter of seven innings. He ended his most prolific year as a T20I batter with 436 runs in 12 innings, at an average of 43.60, with a strike rate of over 180, three centuries and a fifty.
In his 42-match T20I career so far, he has scored 861 runs in 38 innings at an average of 25.32, with three centuries and two fifties, with a best score of 111. His runs came at a strike rate of 152.38.