India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson admitted that outside noise can affect him but said he has learned to manage it by focusing on his preparation and role in the team, while backing the leadership group’s team-first approach after India’s clinical win over Afghanistan in the second T20I.
India recorded a seven-wicket win over Afghanistan on Tuesday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The teams will meet again in the final match on Sept. 17.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Samson said scoring runs for India was a challenge and players had to accept difficult decisions when the team’s interests were prioritised.
“As I said earlier, scoring runs for the Indian team isn’t an easy task. You see a young guy (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi) coming in after scoring 700-800 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL). I had played a tournament prior to that, but then Sooryavanshi performed so well that he had to be brought into the side one way or another. I hadn’t performed in two or three games while he was in great form, and since we wanted to win that series, the decision made perfect sense from a leadership perspective,” Samson said.
The right-handed batter, who scored 57, said his experience as an IPL captain had helped him understand such decisions and highlighted the importance of communication between players and the leadership group.
“As I mentioned before, I’ve been in this situation myself. I’ve had to make similar tough calls as an IPL franchise captain, so I understand it. That’s where communication plays a crucial role,” he added.
Samson said he had several discussions with head coach Gautam Gambhir during the England T20I series and before the current series, adding that leadership often required taking difficult decisions rather than popular ones.
“Communication with GG (Gautam Gambhir) bhai was very important. We communicated a lot during the England T20I series and even before this current series started; he came and spoke to me extensively. Making tough decisions isn’t easy—taking the popular decision is the easiest thing to do,” Samson said.
“But as a leadership group, we’ve been making some really tough calls by always putting the team first. That is where credit is due to our team’s leadership group,” he added.
On dealing with criticism and outside noise, Samson said he tried to stay away from distractions but admitted that comments could affect players.
“I try to turn off the Wi-Fi. But sometimes the Wi-Fi turns on, and comments are visible, and some senior player says something. So I think I have been mature enough and experienced enough to handle it,” he said.
“At first, it feels a little bad, man, I’m not a machine actually; we are not robots,” Samson added.
The Indian batter said criticism did affect cricketers but stressed the importance of staying focused on preparation and self-belief.
“It’s not that it doesn’t affect me—it definitely does, and you do get somewhat impacted—but then you try to talk to yourself and remind yourself of who you are and what you need to do,” he said.
Samson also credited India’s World Cup triumph with helping him deal with pressure and continue playing with confidence.
Source: Khaleej Times