With the IPL 2026 season in full swing and the playoff picture tightening fast, Sanju Samson has offered a candid look at the emotional swings he faced earlier in the year. The Rajasthan Royals captain turned CSK’s newest star spoke about the disappointment of losing his place in India’s XI to Ishan Kishan on the eve of the T20 World Cup—and how he ultimately found a way to come to terms with that call.
Samson’s World Cup story started as a late twist. He was included at the last minute in India’s squad, with Ishan already in the mix, after the selectors backed away from their Shubman Gill plan. Before the World Cup announcement, Samson had been out of contention for close to three months, but he was given a chance to stake his claim when he returned for the home series against New Zealand in January. However, runs did not come in the way he needed, and that opened the door for Ishan, who produced a standout comeback. As the series progressed, Samson’s form dipped while his competition surged, and the result was that he was edged out of the starting XI.
Speaking on the CSK podcast with Abhinav Mukund, Samson described how quickly the situation shifted once Ishan began to look like the better option. “Honestly, Ishan Kishan came into the squad out of nowhere. He had a great Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he won the championship for Jharkhand and he has also had a great story, boss,” Samson said. He added that, from his perspective, both players were putting in the work, but the momentum had clearly swung. “We only look at ourselves, right? I think I have worked day in and day out, but lately I felt like Ishan had also done the same. After what happened to him for the last two years—he was out of the system—he worked so hard in domestic cricket and worked his way back. He had started scoring runs and I can admit it on camera that I could feel he was coming for my spot,” he said.
Samson pointed to a particular turning point that made it hard to ignore where things were headed. He revealed that once Ishan reached a century in Trivandrum, the decision felt almost inevitable. Even though the final confirmation of Samson’s fate arrived later, he admitted that by the end of the series he had understood his opportunity was slipping away, and that Ishan was the batter in the best rhythm to take over the opening role for the tournament.
“In Trivandrum, when he scored that hundred, I was like, ‘Sanju, now you just give it to him, boss. He deserves it more than you do. You got your chances, you didn’t score runs, but there is someone who is in tremendous form.’ He came out of the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, did everything right to reach there and then scored a century just before the World Cup started. So now I think, ‘Sanju, you just leave it,’” Samson said.
What followed was a dramatic reversal. Samson spent much of the World Cup on the bench, waiting for a window to open. That chance came when opponents targeted India’s vulnerability against off-spin, forcing the management to reassess and call upon Samson. When he was finally brought in, he didn’t just balance the side’s needs—he seized the moment with both hands.
Samson responded in the most emphatic way possible, accumulating more than 320 runs across just five innings. His impact was not limited to the early stages either; he produced fifties in both the semifinal and the final, underlining his value when the pressure was highest. His tournament numbers earned him the Player of the Tournament award, and his performances played a major role in India retaining the trophy. For Samson, the journey—from the pain of being left out to delivering when the team needed him most—became the clearest proof that patience can still pay off in T20 cricket’s fastest format.
