Kerala government to honour Sanju Samson after India's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph

Sanju Samson was not in team India’s plan leading to the T20 World Cup 2026. After a flop show in the New Zealand series, he was sidelined with Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma announced as openers. However, the team was forced to tweak their strategy ahead of the Super Eights clash against Zimbabwe as they wanted to inject a right-handed batter at the top of the order. Samson was eventually called up for the role and absolutely stole the show.

In a must-win Super Eights clash against West Indies, the keeper-batter smacked an unbeaten 97, while scoring 89 each in the semi-final and final against England and New Zealand, respectively. With that, he became only the third cricketer, after Virat Kohli and Shahid Afridi, to score a half-century each in the T20 World Cup



semi-final and final. 

Courtesy of his sensational batting in the final phase of the tournament, Samson was adjudged the Player of the Tournament. He also became the second Indian after Kohli to win it. After the final, which India won by 96 runs, Samson credited the legendary Sachin Tendulkar for helping him with his technique during the rough phase, which helped the cricketer get back to form.

In the meantime, Kerala’s General Education and Labour Minister V Sivankutty confirmed that the state government will organise a reception in Trivandrum to honour Samson after India’s historic triumph in the T20 World Cup. According to a report in PTI, the minister also spoke about the joy and pride Samson brought to his hometown with his incredible batting.