Samson has been the toast of the cricket-loving nation still in euphoria of retaining the title on home soil following India’s 96-run triumph over New Zealand in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday. But reaching to this point wasn’t rosy at all – Samson made 46 runs in five T20Is against New Zealand in the run-up to the World Cup and his place in the playing eleven wasn’t certain.

The wicketkeeper-batter began by playing only once in the group stage against Namibia in New Delhi as stomach illness kept Abhishek Sharma out of the game. But a tactical shift during the Super Eights, after the 76-run loss to South Africa, saw Samson being recalled to break up a left-handed opening pair.

Samson responded to the recall with a relentless resurgence through an unforgettable 97 not out in a must-win encounter against the West Indies before consecutive scores of 89 in the semi-final and final led India’s charge to winning their third Men’s T20 World Cup title.

“I always used to tell Sanju that, ‘Sanju, you don't know, sometimes in two or three days, an injury or form issue could come up or even a combination issue may appear. So you have to be ready.’ He has so much experience, but he would laugh and say, ‘Arey Kotsi bhai, don't worry. Whenever the team needs me, I will contribute.’

“He is such a lovely guy and I am so happy for him. Even after so many ups and downs, he rose to the occasion in the last three matches. The way he carried himself and played those three innings so smartly, it helped us hugely as he had big contributions in our wins,” Kotak told IANS in an exclusive conversation.

Samson’s technique required a significant recalibration from the Indian team, especially with his trigger movement and being too deep in the crease hampering his natural strokeplay. Kotak explained how sustained efforts ensured Samson’s stance was back to being stable, resulting in the famous stillness in his shots coming back for the business end of the competition.

“I got the technical changes done for Sanju - that was to create an early base for him. It was because it was looking like the trigger that he used to do before, in that he would keep both feet close. In that, weight comes more on one foot and technically such things happen. So his back foot movement was a little hampered.

“He was getting late in meeting well pitched-up deliveries bowled at a certain length. So that was a technical change and we were trying that for 6-8 months. When our series was not there, he was also trying to work on it because things like this take time. Skill wise, it happens in 3-4 weeks.

“But there are also mental doubts which creep in because he did that in some matches and despite it, he got out in different ways. Then the batter feels, ‘I should do what I was used to doing, as it was better than this.’ So that is a mind game, but eventually he came good with this in what we were trying. So he is very happy and I am also very happy,” he elaborated.

After being an unused member in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup win, Samson ended up amassing 321 runs across just five innings in 2026 to finish as India’s leading scorer and surpass the 319-run mark of Virat Kohli in 2014, making him the most prolific Indian batter in a single edition of the tournament.

Samson also joined an elite club as only the third Indian to be named Player of the Tournament in a Men’s T20 World Cup after Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. For a player who has spent years navigating the ‘ups and downs’ of cricket, especially at the international level, and had to face doubts over whether he could live up to the immense potential, the T20 World Cup victory marks a definitive and hard-earned chapter of redemption.

Kotak also lauded head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav for maintaining faith in Samson’s ultra-attacking playing style. “A lot of credit to the selectors, Gautam and Sanju also as even after so much criticism, they kept their faith in him.

“Sanju has that much class as a batter because in this short format, where high risk, high reward cricket works, if someone goes through bad form, it's tough for the players too. It’s because they have to get going from ball one to hit sixes.

“At times, there comes a bit of mistiming or misjudgment and they get out. So that pressure again - it's not easy for the players. So for that, a lot of credit goes to the selectors, Gautam and Surya to keep that faith in Sanju.”

Seeing Samson get so much adulation and warmth from fans and cricketers worldwide in the aftermath of T20 World Cup triumph made Kotak go on a trip down the memory lane, when he first saw the wicketkeeper-batter during the India A series against South Africa in September 2019.

“See, Sanju is actually in the team’s leadership group because he was the captain of RR for so many years. His temperament and belief is known to all and also, I have known Sanju for a long time, but got a chance to work with him when he was with me in the India A team in 2019. He was in the last two matches of the series against South Africa. In the last match, it was a one-day game and it was a 20-over fixture because of the rain affecting the game.”

“In that, I sent him at number three in the game in Thiruvananthapuram. In 48 balls, he made some 90 (91) runs against a bowling attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Beuran Hendricks, Junior Dala and the captain of the South African team was Temba Bavuma. The way Sanju batted that day, I knew he had it in him to do something big in future.

“Then in 2023, when the senior team was preparing for the Test series in South Africa under Rahul Dravid bhai and other senior staff members, I became India's head coach for three ODI matches, where KL Rahul was the captain. I remember before the third match, he was batting in the back-end of the batting order.

“In that, I sent him at number three in the game in Thiruvananthapuram. In 48 balls, he made some 90 (91) runs against a bowling attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Beuran Hendricks, Junior Dala and the captain of the South African team was Temba Bavuma. The way Sanju batted that day, I knew he had it in him to do something big in future.

“So I will give as much credit to Gautam and Surya that they kept their faith in Sanju and we know how good he is and it felt great to see him deliver in those must-win games. What Sanju did was so, so important. In the last three matches, Sanju's maturity, fearless style and the shots he played were unbelievable,” concluded Kotak.