'Trained hard but no success; wife's words made me think', Sanju opens up

NEW DELHI: Malayali wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson expressed disappointment at not being included in India's playing XI for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Sanju blamed his poor form in the series against New Zealand and Ishan Kishan's excellent performance for him not finding a place in the team. Sanju revealed this in an interview with Jiostar.

"Ishan Kishan came into the team after the New Zealand series. His progress was completely different. Ishan, who was not even in the team in the initial phase, returned to single-handedly lead Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He made the most of the opportunities and got back to the Indian team. I knew Ishan was soon going to replace me.

Everything changes in a single day; that's the way of Indian cricket. Many people said that my place was secure when I scored centuries. But I didn't believe it. Then came the New Zealand series. Despite training hard with the World Cup in mind, I couldn't shine in the Kiwis series. I realised that I was trying too hard. The New Zealand series taught me how true my wife's words were that being happy and at peace is more important than practising for hours," Sanju added.