I Was Challenged Mentally A Lot: Sanju Samson On His Experience Of Lengthy Absence From Team India

Sanju Samson has opened up on his experience of not being a part of the Indian for more than four years after making his debut. The highly-rated batsman earned his maiden call-up in 2014 during the tough tour of England while he was just 19. He, however, could not make his debut.

But in the following year, he made his debut during a T20I on the tour of Zimbabwe. However, he could not retain his spot in the team after that lone appearance and had to wait for four years for another call-up. Sanju Samson was recalled into the T20I side for the three-match home series against Bangladesh last year.

But the right-handed batsman did not play any game in the series. He was also a part of the T20I series against West Indies but once again warmed the bench. He finally played his second T20I in January this year against Sri Lanka and played two more games on the tour of New Zealand.

There is absolutely no denying that remaining away from the team for four years that too without getting too many chances would have hurt Sanju Samson. However, the 25-year old said that he remained positive throughout. He admitted that it was mentally tough for him but he used it as a motivation to regain his place in the Indian team.

“As you know I am a person who always likes to look at the positives. After my debut at the age of 20, there were lots of ups and downs. I was challenged mentally a lot of times. I saw myself sitting on the bench for even my state team and I was nowhere in the picture for India ‘A’ teams too at times. But those were the tough times that I used to fuel my motivation and pull myself up to play for India again,” Sanju Samson told The Times of India.

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