{"id":44902,"date":"2026-03-09T00:41:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=44902"},"modified":"2026-03-09T00:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:11:24","slug":"virat-kohli-calls-sanju-samson-most-deserving-player-of-the-tournament-after-indias-world-cup-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/cricket\/t20-world-cup\/virat-kohli-calls-sanju-samson-most-deserving-player-of-the-tournament-after-indias-world-cup-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Virat Kohli calls Sanju Samson \u2018most deserving\u2019 Player of the Tournament after India\u2019s World Cup win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former India captain Virat Kohli praised Sanju Samson after the wicketkeeper-batter was named Player of the Tournament in the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026, applauding his ability to deliver in crucial moments during India\u2019s title-winning campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to Instagram shortly after India\u2019s triumph over New Zealand national cricket team in the final, Kohli shared a congratulatory message for Samson, calling him the \u201cmost well deserved man of the tournament\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat a remarkable tournament from the most well deserved man of the tournament @imsanjusamson. You performed when it mattered the most. Really happy for you chetta,\u201d Kohli wrote in his Instagram story.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44903\" src=\"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-09-at-00.40.18.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"994\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-09-at-00.40.18.jpeg 994w, https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-09-at-00.40.18-186x300.jpeg 186w, https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-09-at-00.40.18-636x1024.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-09-at-00.40.18-768x1236.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-09-at-00.40.18-373x600.jpeg 373w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 994px) 100vw, 994px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Samson played a key role throughout the tournament and finished as one of India\u2019s most consistent performers. His contributions in crucial matches helped India maintain momentum during the knockout stages, eventually leading to the team lifting the trophy.<\/p>\n<p>With Samson winning the award in 2026, he joined an elite list of Indian cricketers who have been named Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup. Kohli himself achieved the feat twice \u2014 first in 2014 and again in 2016 \u2014 underlining his dominance during those editions of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah earned the honour during India\u2019s victorious campaign in the 2024 T20 World Cup, thanks to a series of match-defining performances with the ball.<\/p>\n<p>Samson\u2019s recognition in 2026 adds another chapter to India\u2019s strong record in the competition, highlighting the team\u2019s ability to produce standout performers on the global stage. Kohli\u2019s message also reflected the respect Samson has earned within the Indian dressing room after his impressive run throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>With the award, Samson now joins Kohli and Bumrah as the only Indian players to be named Player of the Tournament in the history of the ICC Men\u2019s T20 World Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former India captain Virat Kohli praised Sanju Samson after the wicketkeeper-batter was named Player of the Tournament in the ICC\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4641],"tags":[629,3923],"class_list":["post-44902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-t20-world-cup","tag-sanju-samson","tag-virat-kohli"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44904,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44902\/revisions\/44904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}