Prime Minister Narendra Modi commended India's batter Sanju Samson for his outstanding performance during the T20 World Cup while addressing Keralam karyakartas on January 31, 2026. Modi highlighted Samson's heightened focus, confidence, and intensity during crucial knockout matches, describing him as a true player who delivers when the team requires it most.
"Today cricket season is going on, and for the people of Kerala, this is also something to learn. Like we often see in the performance of Sanju Samson, we saw Sanju Samson in the World Cup. As the crunch situation came in the tournament, the knockout stage came, and his performance suddenly reached its peak. From start to finish, his focus, his confidence and his intensity kept increasing. This is the identity of a true player. When the team needed him the most, he showed his best. This is the identity of a true player," PM Modi said.
Samson played a pivotal role in India's victorious campaign, earning the Player of the Tournament award. He scored 321 runs across five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37, including 27 fours and 24 sixes. This made him the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament and surpassed Virat Kohli's 319 runs in the 2014 edition, setting a new record for the most runs by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup.
While Samson's first two matches in the World Cup did not yield large scores, he significantly contributed from the Super Eight stage onwards, beginning with an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies in a critical match. He followed this with innings of 89 against England in the semi-final and another 89 in the final against New Zealand.
At the T20 World Cup 2026, India successfully defended their title by defeating New Zealand by 96 runs on March 8. This victory made India the first team to win the T20 World Cup on home soil, the first to secure consecutive titles following their 2024 win, and the first to claim the trophy three times (2007, 2024, and 2026).