Sanju Samson has opened up candidly about the relentless scrutiny that follows an Indian cricketer through every failure, admitting the fear of renewed public noise is real — but insisting he has chosen to play through it rather than around it. The 31-year-old wicketkeeper-batter made the remarks at the post-match press conference following India's second T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi, on Tuesday, 16 September 2026, after smashing 57 off 22 balls to help India seal the series with a 2-0 lead.

Samson on failure and the fear of noise

Samson was blunt about what failure means for a cricketer wearing the India colours. He acknowledged that criticism — from social media, from former players, from the wider public — does land. But he said experience has shifted where he places his attention.

'Being an Indian cricketer, it's not easy to face failures, but that's where my experience comes in. I think I try to shut out the noise and try to be confident and try to come out and still keep scoring at a high strike rate — even taking the chances, even taking the knowing that if I fail again, I'll be facing a lot of noise again. But I think that's the way we are built here in Indian cricket, and I just go out there and try to score maximum and contribute,' Samson told reporters.

His admission stands out for its honesty: he is not claiming to be immune. He is claiming to play anyway.

The fearless approach and India's T20 template

Samson contextualised his high-risk, high-reward batting style within India's established T20 philosophy — a framework he said has been refined over the past two to three years and validated by a World Championship.

'The nature of the way we have been playing from last two-three years — we are actually the world champions now and we have a format, an approach which has been very successful. So, we are just following it as we were following it last two-three years. So, just watching the ball and just trying to get maximum out in the powerplay. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it doesn't work out well,' he said.

On consistency, Samson drew a clear line between controlling process and controlling outcome — arguing the latter is simply not possible at a 200 strike rate. 'Consistency has to be in the frame of mind which you're looking at, and then whatever happens, happens. I think that's what a fearless mindset is called.'

Competition in the top order: Team first, individual second

Samson was asked about the fierce competition for batting spots in India's top three — a subject that external observers often frame as a rivalry. He pushed back firmly on that framing.

'They are competitors for the outside world, but we are a team and we are playing for a country and we want to win the game first, and then it comes down to other individuals,' he said.

He also offered a window into the squad's internal culture, urging against negativity when opportunities are limited: 'We can't sulk or we can't be in a negative frame of mind ki, 'No, yaarr, mujhe nahi mila, usko kyu diya?' So, those kind of mindset don't work here.'

Leadership group and hard selection calls

Reflecting on his own past omissions from the playing XI, Samson credited India's leadership group for communicating transparently and putting the team ahead of individual sentiment. He said difficult calls — even unpopular ones — are a sign of a functioning team culture.

'Taking hard decisions is not easy. Taking very popular decisions is the easiest thing, but as a leadership group, we have been taking some really tough calls keeping the team first. So, that's where credit goes to our team's leadership group,' he said.

The 'Wi-Fi problem': Samson's self-deprecating take on social media

In one of the more memorable exchanges of the press conference, Samson used humour to describe his battle with online criticism — joking that his solution is to 'turn off the Wi-Fi', before acknowledging it does not always work.

'Sometimes the Wi-Fi gets turned on and I end up seeing comments, or some senior player says something. Initially, it does feel bad; I'm not a machine or a robot to say 'No, it doesn't affect me.' It definitely affects you, and you get a bit impacted, but then you talk to yourself and remind yourself who you are and what you need to do,' he said.

His ultimate position: accept the scrutiny, understand your own identity as a player, and express yourself with the team's interest first. With a 2-0 series lead sealed and another explosive innings banked, Samson appears to be living out exactly that philosophy heading into the series decider.