'Until you prove it, they don’t accept you' – Sanju Samson breaks silence after being ignored for ODIs

Speaking on the Sports Cast podcast, Sanju Samson reflected on the moment that transformed his career and self-belief. The wicket-keeper batter recalled his first international century, scored against South Africa in Cape Town, and said it was the turning point that changed his outlook completely.

“I think that was getting my first international hundred in South Africa. I was in and out of the side, playing a few games here and there. I knew deep down that I was good enough to play at the international level, the biggest stage cricket has ever seen. But until you prove it to people, you don’t get acceptance” Sanju said.


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He added, “After that hundred, I don’t know what people were saying, but in my own head, I was totally convinced that yes, Sanju, you are made for this level. That was the moment when a lot of things changed internally. It was a series decider, and I knew if I didn’t perform, I could be dropped. So when I scored that challenging hundred, I told myself, if you can do this, you are meant for something even bigger.”

That innings, he believes, set the tone for his next phase. “After that, I went into the IPL, scored 500-600 runs, got into the T20 World Cup squad, and started scoring centuries. That was my turning point.”

Interestingly, despite that brilliant century in a series decider, Sanju has not played an ODI since. He was recently overlooked for the ODI series against Australia, with Dhruv Jurel picked as the backup wicketkeeper ahead of him despite Rishabh Pant’s injury.

Sanju’s numbers in ODIs remain impressive. In 16 matches, he has scored 510 runs from 14 innings at an average of 56.67 — a record that many feel deserves more opportunities.



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