Centurion Samson says bad times taught him a lot

Photo: BCCI

Pune: Sanju Samson, who stormed back into spotlight with the first hundred of IPL 10, says he has become a better cricketer and human being after going through bad times.

"I think you need to have bad times to learn about life. If you keep on being successful, you do not learn. If you do mistakes, you learn from them and become a better person. My past has helped me become a better cricketer and human being," said Samson after smashing 102 off 63 balls against Rising Pune Supergiant last night.

He is back to his best after a forgettable domestic season which was marred by disciplinary issues.

Samson had left the team dressing room in the middle of a Ranji Trophy match but the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) let him off with a warning with a rider that his father Viswanadh would not "interfere with his son's cricketing activities".

An unconditional apology salvaged the situation for the father-son duo.

Asked about the significance of his hundred, Samson said it was a special knock but he has a long way to go.

"It is one of the special days of my life but every cricketer here dreams to play for India. Indian team is the world's best and to get into it, you have to do something special. I am happy that I played one big innings but there is a long way to go," said the 22-year-old.

He is still very young but has managed to gain a wealth of experience through years of playing IPL and first-class cricket. And that has helped him deal with different match situations.

"We need to change our batting style according to the match situation. I have been playing IPL for sometime now. I have had my experience and I have learnt from it. Sometimes you need to slow down, sometimes you need to make a partnership."

He was all praise for his longtime mentor Rahul Dravid, who both played for Rajasthan Royals before joining Delhi Daredevils.

"He has been supporting me like anything. His words before every practice are very helpful," he said.