{
  "id": 8005104,
  "title": "‘Not a robot, but used to tough calls’: Samson on Sooryavanshi competition, relentless scrutiny and the fight for his place in XI",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/not-a-robot-but-used-to-tough-calls-samson-on-sooryavanshi",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-17T10:21:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/not-robot-used-tough-calls-102100603.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "New Delhi: Sanju Samson, known for his inconsistent performances, made his T20I debut at 20 in 2015. However, his spot in the Indian team remains uncertain. After scoring his first half-century since the T20 World Cup in March, Samson emphasized the challenge of maintaining consistency in high-risk T20Is. \"You can't control the consistency in the result in this format. Consistency has to be in the frame of mind,\" Samson said. With three other destructive openers in the Indian lineup — Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Sooryavanshi — Samson's place is always in question. Two months ago, Samson was benched in England when Sooryavanshi played ahead of him. Reflecting on his experience as an IPL captain, Samson said, \"It's not easy to run an Indian team. A 15-year-old boy has scored 700-800 runs in the IPL. My World Cup was before that. He had to come in some or the other manner.\" Samson admitted that he gets affected by the scrutiny but maintains that he is experienced enough to handle it. \"At first, it feels bad. I am not a machine. I am not a robot. It definitely matters. And you kind of get a bit affected. But then you try to talk to yourself and tell that what you are and what you need to do,\" Samson said.",
  "summary": "Sanju Samson addressed the difficulty of achieving consistency in the T20 format. He explained that a fearless mindset is crucial for maintaining focus and performance. Samson acknowledged that team management faces tough decisions regarding player selection. He stated that he understands these choices from his IPL captaincy experience. Samson also mentioned that he is experienced enough to…",
  "key_points": [
    "Sanju Samson made T20I debut at 20 in 2015",
    "Competes with Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Sooryavanshi for place",
    "Handles scrutiny despite being not a robot"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}