‘You are seeing a 15-year-old boy’: Samson on being dropped for Sooryavanshi

Samson on the Sooryavanshi Situation: "You're Seeing a 15-Year-Old Boy"

What a response from Sanju Samson. After a quiet opener (just 10 off 8), the captain smashed a fiery 57 off 22 balls to help India cruise past Afghanistan by 7 wickets and seal an unassailable 2-0 T20I lead. 💪

But it was his words post-match that truly stood out. With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi—teenager, Player of the Series in Zimbabwe—left on the bench, Samson addressed the selection narrative with grace and maturity.

On the competition:

Samson was quick to stress that inside the dressing room, there are no egos—only a team chasing a bigger goal. "They're competitors for the outside world, but we are a team. We want to win the game first. We can't sulk… 'Yaar, mujhe nahi mila, usko kyun diya'—those mindsets don't work here."

Why Sooryavanshi got the nod:

Samson got real about the reality of selection. He pointed to his own slump and the teenager's hot form: "You are seeing a 15-year-old boy who has come after scoring 700-800 runs. I was Player of the Tournament before that, then didn't perform for 2-3 games, and he was in form. Wanted to win games—it was understandable from a leadership point of view."

Dealing with the outside noise:

The opener joked about his own strategy for blocking out the chatter: "I try to switch the WiFi off. But sometimes the WiFi gets switched on, and comments become visible. Some senior player says something."

He was refreshingly honest: "I'm not a machine. We are not robots… Definitely it affects you." But experience has helped: "If I paid attention to those things, I couldn't bat like this. Instead, I tell myself—'Koi baat nahi.'"

The big picture:

Samson's 57 was his first T20I fifty since the T20 World Cup final. With four sixes and four—and Abhishek Sharma's quick 39 off 19—India raced to 88/0 in 38 balls before finishing 163/3 in 14.5 overs. Nitish Reddy's 3/24 had earlier confined Afghanistan to 159/8.

A win, a 2-0 lead, and a captain who handles the pressure with class. 🙌

#T20I #TeamIndia #SanjuSamson

Source: Times of India