'No one will tell me how to bat': Sanju Samson on quitting rat race

Sanju Samson reveals Virat Kohli's advice on fitness, discipline and lifestyle, while explaining why he quit cricket's 'rat race' before becoming India's T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament.

India's T20 World Cup hero Sanju Samson says one piece of advice from Virat Kohli changed the way he looked at fitness and discipline, but the biggest change in his career came when he decided to stop running cricket's "constant rat race."

Fresh from a dream ICC T20 World Cup campaign, where he finished as India's highest run-scorer with 321 runs and was named Player of the Tournament, Samson reflected on the conversations and decisions that shaped his journey.

Speaking on JioStar's Believe, the Kerala batter revealed how Kohli's relentless work ethic left a lasting impression on him during an India camp.

'We all know how Virat bhai is. He is very clear and very straightforward with everyone. If you need to do something, he will tell you exactly what is required. The way he carries himself in the gym, there is a different fire in that guy and I really love that about him. We both were working out together in the gym during an Indian team camp and I asked him, 'Paaji, what should I do? Tell me something too!'"

Kohli's answer had little to do with batting technique.

'He told me that lifestyle plays a huge role. If you want to become an international cricketer, you must maintain a different kind of lifestyle.

'He shared what works for him on his journey and told me, 'This food will help your body recover, this would not. If you maintain this discipline for the next 10 years, you will have a great career ahead'. I started following it for a year, a year, and a half, but after that, I could not stay on track with that anymore,' Samson added.

While Kohli's words influenced his approach to fitness, Samson admitted the biggest shift came before the 2026 T20 World Cup, when he found himself behind Ishan Kishan in India's pecking order.

Instead of worrying about selection, he decided to take control of what he could.

'I realised that there is a constant rat race in our country, and I decided before the 2026 T20 World Cup that I would not be part of it. I just want to enjoy the game. By God's grace, I have achieved a lot. I am 31 now, and I have a few years left. So, I have decided to play on my own terms. No one will tell me how to bat or what to do. Sanju will decide for Sanju.'

That freedom, he believes, allowed him to rediscover the joy of batting.

From missing India's preferred T20 combination to becoming the tournament's standout batter, Samson produced successive half-centuries from the must-win clash against the West Indies through to the final against New Zealand, helping India lift the title.

Samson spoke on the self-belief and confidence he carried ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against England, where he had to battle a troubling adversary, pacer Jofra Archer.

Ahead of the T20 WC semifinal against England, a massive Jofra Archer test awaited Sanju. With his morale and stocks rising high with an unbeaten 97* against West Indies in the virtual quarter-final, Sanju was going to come face-to-face with the English pace spearhead who had dismissed him thrice previously.

On the other side at the non-strikers' end, Abhishek Sharma was not enjoying a productive run either. However, defying all odds, Samson demolished Archer, collecting 38 in 14 balls against him, with three fours and four sixes. Samson's 89 in 42 balls helped India reach 253/7, and England fell seven runs short of it, with a brutal counter-attacking ton from Jacob Bethell keeping the Three Lions in the hunt.

Speaking about his battle with Archer, Sanju recalled how the top-order was not firing much leading up to the tournament, and he was being served reminders that Archer had troubled him previously. Despite all the odds, Sanju maintained an unflinching self-belief and confidence.

'When you score runs for the Indian team, you become more responsible, knowing you have to keep scoring. Ahead of the T20 World Cup semi-final against England, our top order was not firing much. A lot of people were coming and telling me, 'It's England, Archer is bowling, he got you out 3-4 times previously, this happened, that happened.' But I was confident. I didn't say anything out loud. If you talk too much, you come across as arrogant, and that goes against my belief,' he said.

'So, I just gestured quietly, 'Yeah, we'll see.' But I had my plans ready. I knew that this Sanju Samson was not the Sanju Samson from a year ago. After that West Indies knock, I had a lot of self-validation, and I was very sure about myself. There was no room for doubt. I was going to do it for my country, and no one could stop it,' he added.

Samson also shed light on his mindset during the title clash against New Zealand, where he kept reminding himself that he was supposed to bear the burden of scoring runs and encouraged himself to stay till the end.

'One thing I have learned is that you cannot control form all the time. Form comes and goes. At that moment in our team setup, I was the one getting runs.

'The others at the other end were contributing too, but much of the run-scoring burden was on me. I could feel the responsibility of being the main run-scorer in the World Cup final against New Zealand. I kept reminding myself, 'Sanju, you are responsible. You need to keep going. You must stay there till the end and finish the job for your country'. That thought kept me focused throughout the innings,' he said.

The wicketkeeper-batter also reflected that his confidence after the past two games helped him take some time, play out some dot balls, as he felt clear that he could hit sixes later and target bowlers well.

'When you are confident, you do not mind taking your time. I played an over against Santner where I faced four dot balls in a World Cup final. But I was completely sure that even if I played four dot balls there, I could hit two sixes later from the other end. I had absolute clarity. In the past, after four dot balls against Santner, I would have swung on the fifth out of panic, thinking, 'Man, you are wasting balls.' But the previous games against West Indies and England taught me that taking time and playing dot balls is okay. Your team needs you to stay out there, and you know your game plan. You know which bowler to target and when to attack. That gave me clarity and confidence,' he said.

'I told myself, 'Now you cannot walk away from here'. So, I embraced the responsibility, used my experience, and played my natural game. I really enjoyed batting with everyone, Ishan (Kishan) played a great role too and we cannot forget the contributions of 'Mr. Bumrah'. He is a pure cheat code, and without that cheat code, we would not have gotten past England, and in the final, the start he provided was crucial. Everyone played their part, and I am very happy I contributed the way I did,' he said.

The wicketkeeper-batter says he no longer worries about what lies ahead, even with another T20 World Cup scheduled for 2028.

'With all due respect, I will play, enjoy the game, be a good teammate, and support the group, but I will do it my way. After the 2024 World Cup, I did not even expect to play in the 2026 World Cup. I was not in the 14 or 15-man squad at one point. So how can I plan for 2028? If I'm there, if the team needs me, and if I am playing well, things will fall into place. If not, I am deeply grateful. No one can take this achievement (His T20WC Player of the Tournament award) away from me.'

Samson's numbers underline his growing influence in India's white-ball setup.

In 66 T20 Internationals, he has scored 1,432 runs at an average of 27.01 and a strike rate of 155.99, with three centuries and six half-centuries.

In One-Day Internationals, he has amassed 510 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.66, including a century and three fifties.

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