Indian opener Sanju Samson has emphasised the importance of sticking to the process and not letting external noise affect his game. He made these remarks after delivering a Player of the Match-winning performance in the first T20I against New Zealand.
Speaking at the post-match press conference after his heroic 67 off 33 in India’s 226-run chase, Samson insisted that he doesn’t play the game to prove his critics wrong. India reached 227 in 19.4 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
“I don’t know what people are talking on the outside. To be honest, you cannot think what social media is saying or what other people are saying. You just have to be in the process, be in a very different environment,” Samson said.
“Playing for Indian cricket is not easy. There is a lot of noise happening. A lot of people have their own comments. But I don’t play this game with the mindset of proving people wrong,” he added.
Samson further explained that India’s batting approach revolves around starting aggressively and putting the opposition bowlers under pressure, rather than allowing the pressure to build on their own batters during the middle and death overs.
“I don’t think we would have played a bit differently, but I think it’s different phases of the game where you have different approaches,” he noted.
“When you have had a really good start in the powerplay, we actually phrase it very differently. The powerplay is different, the middle overs are different, and the death overs stage is different. So even if you’re chasing 170 and if you’ve got off to a flyer, we make sure that we kill the game in the powerplay itself. That’s what we have been doing really well in the last couple of years,” he concluded.
