Kohli can't appreciate Sanju Samson enough for his contribution in the knockout stages.
The 2026 T20 World Cup was a special event for the Indian team. Coached by Gautam Gambhir and led by the young blood of the Indian squad, the Indian cricket team proved that even without heroes like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, they are a force to be reckoned with. However, by the time the Indian team reached the knockout stages, they were facing a lot of trouble.
Indians lost their very first match of the Super-8 stage to South Africa. The next match was a piece of cake, but the final match of the Super-8 stage was against the West Indies. It was a do-or-die situation at Eden Gardens, but one player stood his ground until he carried the team to victory. He would complement his performance against the West Indies with back-to-back knocks in the semi-finals and finals. The player's name was Sanju Samson, and in many ways, he was the Indian team's savior in the final three games.
Class recognizes class as Sanju Samson becomes the unsung hero
During his career, Virat Kohli has played some great match-winning knocks. He isn't called the 'Chase Master Kohli' for nothing. But India didn't have his heroic presence in the 2026 World Cup.
When asked about his opinion on Sanju Samson during the World Cup, Kohli couldn't help but accept Samson's superiority as a match-winning player in the final stage.
“To be honest, Sanju Samson is the only one who could have done something like this. No one had done it before, and I don’t think anyone will be able to do it in the future either. To play three consecutive big innings, especially in the knockouts, takes a different level of courage,” Kohli outlines in front of the media.
“On top of that, the World Cup was in India, which brought its own pressure. We also played very well in the 2023 WC, but everyone knows what happened in the end. So, what you do in the knockouts matters the most.”
The painful comparison to 2023 is still a sore wound in many Indians' hearts. But Samson and the Indian team managed to patch most of it this year. It's no wonder that Kohli can't help but compare this new team to the one that lost the 2023 ODI World Cup after staying unbeaten throughout the tournament until the finals.
As for Sanju Samson, every time he came to bat in the knockout matches this year, the team was in dire condition. With grit and patience, Samson ensured that even a steady fall of wickets couldn't disturb India's rhythm.