“I switched off my phone and social media” - Sanju Samson reveals about his 10-day break after NZ T20I series

Indian opening batter Sanju Samson has disclosed that he switched off his mobile and stood away from social media after the recently concluded New Zealand T20I series at home. Notably, Samson took a 10-day break after the series to get ready for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

For the unversed, Samson played all five games of the New Zealand home T20I series, scoring only 46 runs at an average of 9.20 and a strike rate of 135.29. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan, who had a better series, went on to replace Samson as an opener in the XI in the mega event.

However, Samson made his comeback for the Super8 clash against Zimbabwe, scoring a quickfire cameo. Later, he continued his heroics against the West Indies, scoring an unbeaten 97-run knock as India advanced to the semi-finals.

“Shot selection was something I kept working on. I did not want to change too much because I knew I had performed with the same setup, so I kept believing in myself, switched off my phone, switched off social media and listened to my own self. I am very happy it happened in a very special game,” Samson said on Star Sports.

Additionally, the keeper-batter asserted that losing wickets from the other side kept the 196-run chase a bit challenging, stating that he wanted to score more boundaries rather than unwanted aggressive shots. India will next take on England in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, March 5.

“It was a bit of a difficult chase. Looking at our batting power, I felt that chasing 190-odd at Eden Gardens, when dew comes in, gets a bit easier, but losing wickets at regular intervals made it challenging,” he added.

“To be honest, that’s where my experience and my role played a big part. I got a good start, but when the wickets kept falling, I felt I needed to finish the game and take it till the last moment,” he stated.

“Normally you feel like doing it, but it doesn’t happen all the time, so I am very grateful it happened in this game...when you are chasing a score like this in a pressure game, you take different options and play more boundaries rather than looking at risk-taking options,” he concluded.

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