IPL 2020: Sanju Samson reveals secret to his big sixes; says he was ‘fed up’ in 2019

Sharjah: Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson has started IPL 2020 on a high. He has struck two consecutive half centuries and won Man-of-the-match awards in both matches. RR have won two out of two and sit at second spot in the points table. Samson is happy with his current form but admitted he was “fed up” with himself last year. Further, he stated how he changed his game and from where he got all the strength to smash those big sixes.

Samson’s 42-ball 85 (4x4, 7x6), Steve Smith’s 50 off 27 balls (7x4, 2x6) and Rahul Tewatia’s brilliant 53 (31 balls, 7x6) towards the end, helped RR set a new IPL record while chasing. They successfully chased down 224 against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday (September 27) in Sharjah.

Speaking after the match, the 25-year-old Samson said, “I think I have been hitting it well for the last one year. So I’m in the right frame of mind. I can see a change in my game and my fitness.”

About last year’s struggles, he explained, “I was really fed up of myself last year. I had been trying very hard but things were not happening. Then I really went back to myself, did a bit of soul-searching and I really asked myself lots of different questions. Like, ‘What do I want to achieve in my life?’ and ‘Where do I want to reach until my cricket career finishes?’”

The Kerala batsman thanked his family and friends for support. “I decided that I have 10 more years to play this wonderful game, so I decided to just give my everything towards cricket and nothing else. My family, friends and everyone is really supportive and I’m really happy that I’m giving my whole energy towards cricket — and it’s giving back to me.”

On his strength to hit big sixes, he said, “I believe that it’s in my genes. My father is a very powerful man so I think I also get the same strength. I have really worked hard on my fitness. I have understood that my game is all about power, so I have invested a lot of time in developing my muscles and all those things, so I’m very happy that it’s coming out nicely.”