Sanju Samson in action during T20 World Cup 2026 final vs New Zealand in Ahmedabad. (PHOTO: AP)

Sanju Samson , who played three successive match-winning knocks in the T20 World Cup triumph to walk away with Man of the tournament award has admitted that the days leading up to the event he had let the weight of expectations get the better of him.

Samson, who was India’s first-choice opener since the completion of the 2024 T20 World Cup, ended up losing his spot closer to the 2026 edition to Ishan Kishan. Though he did play the game against Namibia in Delhi because Abhishek Sharma was ill, Samson went back to warming the bench before making a comeback to the XI in the Super 8 fixture at Chennai in Zimbabwe.…