Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav with the T20 World Cup trophy. (Pic credit: BCCI)

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor expressed his delight at Sanju Samson’s scintillating performances in India’s T20 World Cup triumph, revealing that the wicketkeeper-batter even called him on his birthday. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Tharoor took to X on Tuesday to share the moment, writing, “Delighted to receive a birthday call last evening from Thiruvananthapuram’s and India’s WorldCup hero @IamSanjuSamson! Expressed my happiness at his superlative achievements and wished him all the best in the #IPL. Feeling so proud of him that words truly cannot suffice.”

Samson’s journey in the tournament was a remarkable redemption story. Initially out of the playing eleven and struggling with inconsistent form, he delivered three match-defining innings when it mattered most — from the virtual quarterfinal against West Indies to the semifinal clash with England and the final against New Zealand.

The Kerala star scored 97 vs West Indies, followed by 89 in both the semifinal and final. Across five innings, Samson amassed 321 runs at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37, hitting 27 fours and 24 sixes. Samson surpassed Virat Kohli’s 319-run tally from the 2014 T20 World Cup to set a new record for the most runs by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup edition. He also became one of the few batters, alongside Virat and Shahid Afridi, to post fifties in both the semifinal and final of a T20 World Cup.