“There will be 10,000 people giving you advice” - Sanju Samson opens up on comeback struggles in international cricket

Indian keeper-batter in the shortest format of the game, Sanju Samson, has opened up on his recent struggles in international cricket. Speaking on Ravi Ashwin’s YouTube channel, Samson has talked about making his debut at the age of 20 and waiting for five more years to get his second call-up to the Indian team.

Notably, Samson made his international debut in 2015 at the age of 20 against Zimbabwe in Harare when Ambati Rayudu got injured. However, he had to wait for five more years to get his second chance in the Indian team.

“Talking about the environment in Kerala, breaking into the Indian team was itself a very big thing to me. And I had played for 2-3 years, and I was like, ‘You played for the country, boss well done,’ but then I realised that I couldn’t be satisfied with just this. It wasn’t enough at all so I started thinking, ‘What else, what else, what else,'” Samson told Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

“I had already made my debut when I was 20. It took around 5 years to make my next comeback. So, that was the next big dream… I wanted to make a big comeback into the side. That took a lot of work, physically and mentally,” he added.

Furthermore, Samson also talked about his string of failures on his comeback against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which shattered his confidence. Moreover, he also talked on how he handles blows to his confidence.

“I scored a 200 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, that’s when I made this comeback. I had that confidence, and after that, I got two games in New Zealand and one game in Pune. I didn’t perform there, and I went back with a lot of self-doubt. My confidence was shattered, and I was thinking on the lines of, ‘Everyone trusted you, and you didn’t score.’ You feel angry about yourself,” Samson noted.

“That’s something that has constantly been happening to me. And you rightly observed, right from 2014, you think you have come to the Indian team and now everything will start happening. You get the feel that you waited for this, and you are ready for this. Suddenly, unexpected things happen. But you believe that next time you will do better, and what if you flop the next time, too? You definitely go through a very big self-doubt phase,” he asserted.

“Are you not good enough, boss? A lot of people say, ‘Sanju, they might have played you, or they didn’t play you, they are doing this, they are doing that.’ There will be 10,000 people giving you advice,” he concluded.

It’s important to note that Samson is the front-runner to be a part of the Asia Cup 2025 squad, which is scheduled to take place next month.

Stay updated with the latest cricket news, match insights, and exclusive updates at Sky365 and download the Sky365 App to start betting today!