'I'll drop you if you register 21 ducks' - Sanju Samson reveals note of assurance from Gautam Gambhir

Sanju Samson has revealed how former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir's backing helped him regain confidence after a string of low performances in the past. Samson has represented India in 16 ODIs and 42 T20Is so far. 

Samson narrated an incident during Duleep Trophy, when Suryakumar Yadav promised him to give him a bunch of games to prove his potential.

“So, suddenly, the change happened after the T20 World Cup. So Gautam bhai came in, and Surya came in as the captain. I was playing a Duleep Trophy game in Andhra. Surya was playing for the other team. He told me, ‘There is a good opportunity coming up for you. We have seven games lined up, and I am going to give you all seven games as an opener’. The words coming out from the captain's mouth itself actually felt, Oh wow, great," stated Samson on Ravichandran Ashwin's podcast.

He then weighed in on what Gambhir's message to a struggling Samson was after a poor start to the Sri Lanka series in 2024.

"I played two games in Sri Lanka but was unable to score runs. I was a bit down in the dressing room, and Gautam bhai came up to me and asked what had happened. I said, 'After a long time, I got a chance, but I failed to capitalise'. He said, 'So what? I'll drop you if you register 21 ducks'. Those are the words which he used,” he added.

Was definitely not easy to have those kinds of feelings: Samson

Before sharing how he felt while not bein part of the international team, Samson acknowledged that Suryakumar and Gambhir's confidence in his abilities helped him a lot. 

“That kind of confidence from the captain and the coach has definitely raised my confidence. That really helped me to go out there and perform. I know this thing, being on and off from the team and all those things were happening for a very long period of time, so honestly, I feel like it was not easy, and I think it was definitely not easy to have those kinds of feelings,” commented Samson.

Samson also shed light on how he accepted the setbacks he has encountered in the past. 

"Like I almost completed eight to nine years of my international career, but I only played 15 games or something. I always tried to keep myself in a very positive frame of mind. I always kept on telling myself, ’Okay, it will happen, but different people have different journeys. Yours is a different journey'," he added.

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Samson has scored three centuries for India in T20Is since the forgettable tour of Sri Lanka in 2024.