Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson stated that India is set to dominate world cricket for years to come. He mentioned that during the World Cup he realised how crucial it was for every player in the team to step up and deliver strong performances.

The top-order batter excelled in the knockout stages, scoring three consecutive half-centuries in the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He smashed an unbeaten 97* against the West Indies to help India reach the semi-finals. In the semi-final clash against England, Samson scored 89, and he followed it up with another 89 in the final against New Zealand, guiding India to lift the title for the third time.

"Not yet, I am still like, when I get up in the morning I'm like, 'has it really happened'. So honestly, that's the feeling. But I feel that in the coming years with the quality of players we have in our country, this is going to be repeated. The number of players which are coming up and India is definitely going to do this more and more often,” said Samson on the sidelines of the BCCI awards in Delhi as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Samson was named Player of the Tournament after a historic campaign, scoring 321 runs at a strike rate of nearly 200 in just five innings during the World Cup. Earlier in the tournament, he had played only one match. Samson also revealed that he had always dreamed of helping India win a World Cup.

"You can only dream where you want to go, but you can't definitely ride the path towards it. So my life or my career has been one of the best examples. I definitely wanted to do this a couple of years ago. I want to win a World Cup for my country, but it had its own plan, its own script. So, but more like a movie. I enjoyed it,” said Samson.

"As I said before, I wanted to do something like this, then I got pulled out of my journey, and then suddenly, the team wanted me to come and contribute, and that's when I actually mentally flipped a bit... I think, before that, in the New Zealand series, the focus was all about myself,” he added.

The Kerala-born batter is now part of two World Cup-winning teams, first in 2024 and more recently in the 2026 World Cup. He did not get a chance to play in the 2024 edition as veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were dominating the batting lineup. However, in the latest World Cup, Samson showcased his class with crucial performances.

"But in the World Cup, the focus is all about the team, what the team requires. And in the Zimbabwe game, right from that moment, everyone wanted me to contribute. I had a role to play. So that's when the shift happened and the confidence that, okay, 'the team needs you, Sanju', and let's do what you can do the best. So that's where everything started from. And then I had the experience, I was working mentally. I was working physically, so I knew that I'm ready, and I knew that this was meant for me, so I just had to do what I know best,” said Samson.