Sanju Samson's father: Made him follow only Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid

T20 World Cup, IND vs NZ: Sanju Samson's father, Samson Viswanath, revealed that he trained his son from childhood by having him follow the batting styles of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

Sanju Samson's father, Samson Viswanath, revealed that he ensured his son followed the batting styles of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid during his childhood. Speaking to India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai, Viswanath explained that he deliberately exposed Samson only to the techniques and approaches of the two Indian greats while he was learning the game.

Samson recently enjoyed a stellar campaign in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Tournament after India clinched their third title. The right-hander finished as the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament, amassing 321 runs in five matches at an impressive average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37, including three half-centuries.

"When Sanju started batting, he used to follow the styles of Sachin Sir and Dravid Sir. When he was just four years old, we never showed him the batting of anyone else. I used to train them, but whenever we watched batting together, we would watch innings of Dravid Sir or Sachin Sir. I would tell the kids, 'Look at how these two great Indian cricketers play and how they use their bats.' That’s who they learned to follow," Samson’s father said.

#Exclusive | Sanju Samson's father, Samson Vishwanath, in conversation with @sardesairajdeep, says he is very happy with his son’s performance in the last three matches, calling it 'class cricket'.He also recalls how he spotted the talent in his sons early and trained them, pic.twitter.com/d7f6wHv8Cu— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) March 9, 2026

Samson’s father said that his son played against West Indies, England, and New Zealand with complete class, composure, and freedom, striking the ball cleanly in every innings. He noted that this was how Samson played in his childhood, although his style had changed in recent years. His father often encouraged him to return to his natural, instinctive way of batting, and during this period, Samson had to face criticism and taunts while working to regain his old form.

“He has just completed three innings, and they were pure class - absolutely class cricket. There wasn’t even a single shot where the ball didn’t come properly off his bat. He looked completely calm, tension-free, and was striking the ball very cleanly. In all three innings, he played every ball with great freedom,” Samson said.