Sanju Samson takes an indirect swipe at Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after T20 World Cup win
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Sanju Samson, India's T20 World Cup hero, cited the importance of winning the game for India with an impactful innings, which mattered more than his personal milestones of getting three centuries in the World Cup games.
Times change, and new players make new contributions for teams; however, the legends who made consistent efforts to guide them to victory on a number of occasions, their radiance, and their excellence remain unaffected.
The Indian team has undergone a massive transition between the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2026 T20 World Cup, but one thing that remained constant was India's unaffected legacy in the ICC tournament. Newer players, newer roles, but the tricolour waved above all at the end of the ICC event.
Sanju Samson clears India's priorities in the Suryakumar-Gambhir era
Having arrived at the India Today Conclave 2026, World Cup champions Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson spoke on India's approach to the game under Captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Vikrant Gupta went on to ask Sanju Samson, "Not the culture, but the concept of Indian cricket, that personal milestones are good and very important, but they are not the 'be all, end all.'
"For example, he said, Sanju could have scored three centuries; he couldn't. Maybe someone else played those six balls and scored another 26 runs. So is there really a conscious effort, or do we hear all these things only after a World Cup win?"
Sanju Samson could not shy away from answering this, as he said that ever since Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav took over the Indian team, the importance of personal milestones was sidelined, and what remained the centre page of the Indian system was winning it for the team.
"No, Paaji, it's very true; I think Abhi will agree with me. This is the constant conversation and the points we have written down in team meetings. Right from the Sri Lanka series, where Surya and Gautam Bhai were the leaders of the Indian team. Right from that moment, it was very clear that there were no personal milestones.
"So, that's how we all adapted, and our character got aligned to the team's starting point. Definitely, there is a conscious effort," he added.
I absolutely contributed really well- Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson entered the game against the West Indies, which was the final game of India's Super-8 campaign, with just around 50 runs in the T20 World Cup, but the world was not ready for witnessing one of India's most memorable batting performances in the World Cup from then on.
Breaking records, Sanju scored a heroic 97* to guide India through to the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup. In the semis, he scored another 89 runs and hammered India home to a massive 250+ total, and then followed the same in the final to produce another Samson's special 89 to wind up the World Cup for the defending champions.
However, many opined that Samson missed out on three of his well-deserved centuries in the T20 World Cup. To this, Sanju Samson said, "Three hundred, which people say I missed out on. I feel a huge lot of work was done; I think I absolutely contributed really well."
"Winning the game was more important than my three centuries"
— ` (@WorshipDhoni) March 14, 2026
- Sanju on missing out on three hundreds
Direct attack on that one guy 😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/RwFNVonYPZ
Who has the most runs for India in winning causes in the ICC T20 World Cup?
Now, many have cited the words from the Indian World Cup winner as an attack on Virat Kohli, the former World Cup winner who, according to many, cited personal milestones more than leading his team to victory.
Speaking of Virat's legacy, the chasemaster is India's most successful batter across ICC tournaments, with the most runs coming off during chases. Speaking of the T20 World Cups, Kohli retired in 2024 with 809 runs in 19 innings, the most for India during a winning cause for the team.
Rohit follows him in the list with 702 runs. Rohit Sharma was the architect behind selfless shotmaking in India. As the captain, he took charge and smashed the bowlers early on, not caring about personal milestones, in the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.
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India National Cricket Team Sanju Samson Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli ICC T20 World Cup Gautam Gambhir India vs New ZealandAbout the Author
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