Anil Kumble, the veteran player, lauded Sanju Samson with the ultimate compliment, noting that Samson played like a mix of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Samson’s return to the playing XI line-up led to a consecutive strike of record-setting performances. Although his momentum was uncertain at the beginning of the tournament, he played a crucial role in the knockout stage with three consecutive fifties.

Across five innings, Samson piled up 321 runs, breaking Virat Kohli’s record for the most runs scored by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup. Anil Kumble noted that Samson showed composure similar to Kohli during the crucial stages of the innings, while also attacking the bowlers aggressively in the powerplay, much like Rohit Sharma.

Kumble, while talking to ESPNcricinfo, stated, “If you look at the previous World Cup in 2024, it had Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both are great players, very difficult to replace them. I think Samson is a combination of Kohli and Rohit, in a sense. When it required a little bit of Kohli, where you just plan and ensure that you don’t lose wickets. And then whenever you need to accelerate, in the powerplay, you want to take on the bowlers [like Rohit].”

Widespread praise came to Samson as Faf du Plessis also praised his gameplan during the tournament. He highlighted the batter’s mindset to stick to his dedicated way to face the opponent.

“What you can see is a guy who is in form and really true to the way that he wants to play. It looks like I am watching the previous innings again. It’s just the game plan on display,” remarked du Plessis.

Additionally, Samson hit 24 overhead boundaries, setting a record for the most ever sixes by a batter in a World Cup edition.