- 2 hours ago
Speaking at the India Today Conclave, Sanju Samson credited the T20I series against New Zealand for preparing him to succeed on the global stage. After scoring just 46 runs across five games in the bilateral series, Samson went on to earn the Player of the Tournament award at the T20 World Cup.
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00:00Good evening, good evening, just settle down, I know there is visible excitement in the room
00:12but what do I say, with us are the two world champions and not just two world champions,
00:21I know Khiladi number one will come later but right now we have the Jodi number one
00:26because these two have created a record, not only have they helped us win the world cup
00:31but created a record that's never been done in the 19 years of T20 world cup history,
00:37the highest ever opening partnership in the final of a T20 world cup, what I request is
00:43you guys won there in Ahmedabad or Mumbai, so just stand up, stand up, let it be like a stadium,
00:49let us feel the energy of a stadium, let them feel what they missed when they won the world cup.
00:59So just in case if you didn't feel enough energy in Ahmedabad, I'm sure this house here has tried
01:05to do their very best but you know what do I say, I call these two destiny's child because they
01:11have
01:11a very similar arc, one man didn't have a great world cup but saved his best for the last,
01:17the other one didn't have a great lead up to the world cup, was pushed out of the 11 and
01:23emerged as
01:23the player of the tournament, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samsung, we're very very honored to have the two
01:29of them join us. I don't know where to start but I'll start with you Abhishek because Sanju
01:43is a world champion is a feeling he had in 2024. Abhishek Sharma, world champion, how does that feel?
01:53No I mean it's not easy to digest first of all but you know I had a plan the day
01:59I started playing
02:00cricket, the only goal was obviously to win, to firstly to play for the country and then once you
02:06played for the country the ultimate goal is to win the ICC trophies for your country and I mean going
02:13through that world this world cup tournament I mean obviously everybody must have heard a bit it
02:18wasn't the start I wanted but still I was still happy that because the team was doing well and we
02:24were
02:24still winning the game and obviously I had a dream that I wanted to be a world champion one day
02:29and it's
02:30just not about one trophy it's all about how many trophies I can win for my country and that's all
02:36I
02:36play about Sanju the two of them are called ice and fire Sanju is supposed to be the ice and
02:49Abhishek
02:49is supposed to be the fire but that's just the personality when the two of you go out there's no
02:55ice and no fire it's only fire fire fire how's that possible Sanju you two have changed the very
03:02dimensions of t20 cricket internationally not just for India but I think the way the world will now
03:08look at t20 I mean Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma cast in stone now the cast in gold now
03:15yeah lovely question first of all hi everyone a great evening to all
03:24and thank you so much for the love and support which we get wherever we go I think you are
03:30the
03:30reason why we are sitting here so thank you so much for coming and
03:33uh paji coming back to your question ice and fire to dikhnem here dono fire yeh
03:43kavi kawar yeh fire hojata hai kavi kawar man fire hojataan so we actually have that kind of
03:48combination going right from the world cup of 2024 we both have done this more often actually so we have
03:56kind of a kerala panjabi friendship going in the middle so so everything comes very natural to us we just
04:03don't complicate things and jada kuch puste niya paaji he bolte baal kaise ara hai ball sida hai paaji uda
04:09de
04:09so we keep it very simple so I really love definitely batting toh sabi fan abhishek lala ke but
04:17I really love the character he carries he's a very brave and open-hearted kind of a kid and I
04:22really love
04:22his partnership on and off the field so we ground ke under dikhta ho ka shahd partnership on the field
04:28off the
04:28field we're so lucky to have the two of them you know right now India are the world champions of
04:35course we've defended the title but uh again you said destiny's child I would say it's a life lesson
04:40for all of us abhishek sharma not doing well kept faith scored runs in the final sanju samson
04:47fighting for a place in the team and the team goes to him come bail us out and the two
04:53of you are here
04:53wonderful the other thing that the other thing these these two prove is as I said come from very
05:04different parts of the country you know one from north amritsar the other from tiramanantapuram and
05:11uh their third partner in crime who's not here ishan kishan right bang in the center so you know
05:17they've got the entire india covered and even though the language is very different the cultures are
05:23different the eating habits are very different but at the end of the day it is that indian blood
05:32because when they get on to that field that aggression is the same no I mean uh first of all
05:37I would uh
05:38like to tell everyone that sanju bhai enjoys punjabi more than his kerala language I would say because
05:44whenever he speaks to me he tries to speak in punjabi so I think he's very good in punjabi
05:49he's lived in delhi he's grown up in delhi of course he's a delhi boy so I that's there's no
05:55barrier
05:55of language anytime we have spoken to each other because I've always you know it starts with english
06:01probably and then hindi but once I'm feeling a bit tense or emotional the punjabi comes from in between
06:07okay so that's what would be the typical punjabi conversation between the two of you let's say
06:11in between and over no I feel especially when we are batting together so I don't remember the
06:18language and all it comes the punjabi comes out obviously so I always ask sanju bhai
06:23you know uh uh I'm gonna play some visuals and that probably will give you an
06:52idea you've all seen the charts and then you know uh I'm gonna play some visuals and that probably will
06:53sanju samsung on the field he's an aggressive bloke i've got pictures from a day ago after the world
07:01cup was won he went to his hometown he went to kerala and the pictures that are going to come
07:06up
07:07is this is sanju samsung sitting in a roadside chai shop i think just yesterday or day before
07:14just chilling nobody even knows you know he's there sitting alone with his friends and after
07:20sometime people realize oh this is the same sanju and then i think people came over and took you
07:27know pictures with him my point is sanju when some of your teammates are all in exotic parts of the
07:33world enjoying a holiday you are sitting on a roadside chai shop is this quintessential sanju samsung
07:43no the reality is we also tried for exotic locations but nothing was available
07:53no no to be very honest i kind of feel that this is a dream come true so first thing
08:00i did was to
08:01go and meet my parents back home in travandrum and then i wanted to go and
08:07and uh and then i wanted to go and have some time with the boys i started playing cricket with
08:13so they from the travandrum and then we stopped at calicut so by the all the ways i was just
08:20meeting my
08:20friends i was just sitting there and having coffee actually so yeah i really enjoy my time with my
08:33friends and nowadays we don't get that time so i just called everyone and we had a great time in
08:39calicut where all my friends came in and we had a good dinner there's another video now we captured
08:45that video uh just moments after india won the world cup so all the players are celebrating and we have
08:53sanju samson standing there posing with his wife requesting someone please marry a photo is this the
09:01sanju samson abhishek no i'll i'll i'll answer this question he's so aloof i'll tell you the better
09:08answer of this he's already won a trophy so he knew key trophy is ke baad millenniali jaldi
09:15two ghante wait two ghante wait karne badegi kyunki he sab photos lete hai to paaji
09:20in ko experience tha but uh jokes apart i think uh sanju bai is always been like that he's kind
09:29of very
09:29sorted guy very loving guy very caring guy and uh you know once these kind of players you have in
09:36your team then you you feel that you have someone behind you so it's not just you always on and
09:42off
09:42the field you have someone to support you all the time so that's always been sanju samson for us
09:47when when the going wasn't good when the going wasn't good uh abhishek again you know every day
09:53did it be attention on you now abhishek run banayega abhishek run nahi banay us what what were you going
09:59through it's not so easy you can see you can see you can see you can see you can see
10:05you can see
10:06you can see me can see an reference you can see you can see though you can see remember it
10:10all
10:10my predictions were accurate guys when you spoke the day i made every day and then we holes the thing
10:17but okay since mr i also listened to yournu kimi rari but is sure Mr. obviously you
10:26have so much to have repeated now you can follow up for 2 years and suddenly ter Archives
10:31hospitalised
10:32so there will be visions in your mind
10:35that why is this happening
10:37that I was preparing for this
10:40for the whole year
10:41and suddenly, when I was first
10:42I was not able to stand properly
10:45but then also
10:46I said to Sanjubhai
10:48play
10:49I didn't know how to play
10:52I didn't know how to play
10:54I didn't know how to play
10:58This was the Sri Lanka game
10:59First game
11:01The full team was actually
11:04worried that Abhishek is not well
11:05The whole team said
11:07what happened?
11:08When we met him in the dressing room
11:11he was wearing jackets
11:12he was not able to stand properly
11:16and he actually had the courage to go
11:17I will do this
11:19I will do it
11:21No, obviously
11:23I told all senior players
11:26that
11:27if you don't feel
11:28you should
11:30in one match
11:31you can recover more
11:34stronger in the next game
11:35But obviously as a youngster
11:36once you are playing the World Cup
11:38for the first time
11:39I had courage
11:40I said
11:41you never know
11:42I love playing in Wankhade
11:45I said
11:46I will try my best
11:49I took all the medicines
11:51I could take
11:53It didn't go my way
11:55but still
11:56I was happy
11:56I tried my best
11:59Dhoni's was a similar story
12:00in the 2011 World Cup
12:02The entire World Cup
12:03he did not score runs
12:05He did
12:06the day it mattered
12:08Yes sir
12:09I think that was a God's plan
12:12That's how it is
12:13I think the whole tournament
12:14I think
12:15when you are scoring runs
12:18you are happy and confident
12:20but when you are not scoring runs
12:21that's when the real character shows out
12:24Throughout the tournament
12:26Nabi was not having a great time
12:27but he was still there
12:31He was the guy who was cheering up
12:34and very positive
12:34So we kept on believing
12:36that when the time comes
12:37I think he will definitely step up
12:38and that's what happened in the finals
12:40Well done
12:41Because you are talking about the final
12:43and for those of you who are not following cricket regularly
12:46I would like to tell you
12:47that Sanju was primed to be India's
12:51starting wicketkeeper batter
12:52for the Indian team
12:54He had a bit of a dip in the series
12:56right before the World Cup
12:57that was the New Zealand series
12:58I want to know from you
13:00that New Zealand series
13:01I think you played 5 innings
13:02scored 46 runs in all
13:04that kind of pushed you out of the 11
13:06The same team you met in the final
13:09and scored a match winning
13:10the same opposition
13:11because of which you went out
13:13you met in the final
13:13and you scored a match winning 89
13:15I want to know
13:16what changed within that one month
13:18the Sanju that played the bilateral series
13:21versus the same team
13:22versus the Sanju that played the final
13:24Yeah as you rightly said
13:26I think I was totally charged up
13:29and totally
13:30very much fired up
13:31I think
13:32so that is the difference
13:33actually
13:34you don't need to be very much
13:35fired up actually
13:36so I was too desperate
13:37knowing that my dream is so near
13:43so that kind of feeling was going on in the New Zealand series
13:46so I knew that
13:48yeah I am there
13:49they do trust me
13:50but are they still trying it out
13:52so Sanju hai ki nahi hai
13:54so that is the feeling
13:55so that is the feeling
13:55that I am the type of a person
13:56but afterwards when the world cup came in
13:59I kind of figured out ki no
14:02now the team wants you
14:03so that is the mindset change which happened in my head
14:06so I kind of feel that I am the type of a person
14:09who would do much better for others
14:12than doing better for myself
14:14so that is
14:16that's a great quality
14:16yeah so that is what I learned actually
14:19so that is what I learned actually
14:21so that is what I learned actually
14:21so that is what I learned actually
14:22so that I am not very much comfortable
14:26so right from the Zimbabwe game
14:28it was like 4 times 4
14:32it was very positive
14:36it was very fired up
14:37and New Zealand series gave me
14:39enough petrol in my tank
14:41to go the extra mile
14:43so I had a defeat
14:44I was absolutely broken
14:46because my dream
14:47that I have to play
14:48and I am not even in the 11th
14:50so actually I was gone for 5-6 days
14:53and then
14:53I started rebuilding myself
14:55started preparing myself
14:57knowing
14:57you never know what
14:58the game want to be
14:59to give back to you
15:00so all these things happened
15:02and that's the change which I had
15:03Gautam Gambhir the coach also said in an interview
15:06that you know they have tried to change the concept of Indian cricket
15:13not the culture but the concept of Indian cricket
15:16which is personal milestones are good
15:18very important
15:19but they are not the be all end all
15:22for example he said Sanju could have scored 3 centuries
15:26maybe he couldn't
15:27maybe somebody else played those 6 balls
15:29and scored 26 runs
15:30so is there a conscious effort
15:31is there really a conscious effort
15:33or do we hear all these things after the World Cup win?
15:36No Paji is very true to that
15:38I think Abhi would agree to me
15:39like this is the constant conversation points
15:42which we have written down in the team meetings
15:44right from Sri Lanka series
15:46where Surya and Gautambai were the leaders of the Indian team
15:49right from that moment
15:50it was very clear
15:51there is no personal milestone
15:53so that's how we all adapted
15:55and that's how our character also got aligned to the teams
15:57actually starting point
16:00so yeah definitely there is a conscious effort
16:02but looking thinking about my 300s
16:06which people say I missed out
16:07so I think
16:08nahi yaar bhaat bhaat bhaat kaam ho hai
16:10like I absolutely contribute really well
16:13I kind of feel that
16:15like definitely
16:16I don't think about 100
16:18I think
16:20like human being
16:23you definitely think about it
16:25but those thoughts came in
16:27and then I told myself
16:29yarr tere run abhi tak bane kaise hai
16:32you didn't think about 100 when you started to play
16:35so I respected the process
16:36which was giving me runs
16:38and I just stuck to the plan
16:39no matter 80, 90, whatever
16:41you just have to be in the process and it the process was team first so every decision was
16:47taken that what should the team do now just an extension of that because he's talking about
16:52that culture it's fascinating i come across one thing which is so similar for the two of you
16:58you have a conversation because he had a few ducks in this world cup you had a conversation with
17:04sura kumar yadav the captain who i think told you if you have 15 ducks then you will play
17:10he had a conversation with gautam gambir the coach in sri lanka where he said the number changed
17:19but the philosophy remained the same it's incredible and two different people yeah i mean
17:26as a coach as a captain it's not even easy to say to any of the player i mean as
17:32a even he we have
17:33you know captain few teams but once we are at that stage it's not easy to say to any player
17:38even if he's like the main player of the team or maybe he has one few games for you
17:43but going to him when he's not doing well and telling him that if you score zero in next game
17:50as well i'm gonna make sure you play the final game so i think that was a confidence and that
17:54was the
17:55team environment we had during this tournament not in this tournament throughout the you know this
18:00uh two years of journey we had so as a team we always had in my mind so you know
18:06when i was used
18:08to go and bat over there my only plan was how i can you know uh utilize the six overs
18:13for the team
18:13so there was nothing uh in my mind that i could score 50 or probably stay not out on i
18:20think once
18:21this thing come comes off from your mind it's much easier for you as a player to just go and
18:26you know
18:26play your game and uh do well for the team well it's not so easy for the two of them
18:32the jody number
18:33one to have replaced the likes of virat koly and rohit sharma i mean uh when india won the first
18:38t20
18:39world cup in uh the last one in 24 we were there in babidos so virat koly and rohit sharma
18:45were opening
18:45for india and then uh sanju samson abhishek but the two of you are also dad's army both abhishek
18:52and sanju samson i mean they've uh uh whatever cricket that they've that they've played and that
18:58i've read they owe a lot to their respective fathers abhishek's dad is here sanju we would have
19:06love to speak to your dad we do speak to him quite often but uh not on camera and both
19:12obviously you
19:13know your family is always very proud of you the fathers will always look at you with pride but
19:18how strict was your dad how friendly was your dad paaji ati bethe i mean that would be life i
19:27say he
19:28wasn't strict at all i mean he's strict always he's always been like that but i feel during this phase
19:35even he understood that it's not in my hand because he's been seen always me performing in all the
19:41games not in just for india in the junior cricket as well so it wasn't easy for him and for
19:46my family as
19:47well to see and see me go going through this phase but i think the way he handled and my
19:53family handled
19:54they used to come for all the games they tried to you know take me to some other places try
20:00to
20:00other places but uh i feel it wasn't easy for him as well if you ask him he would say
20:07that
20:07i mean he he'll pretty much say like right now that he wasn't worried or he wasn't you know intense
20:12but he was i could see he is upset he's been you know he even he tried everything you know
20:19part puja which he never did i guess but i feel uh it's not just you playing over there it's
20:30the whole
20:30family your friends the team so i could understand that i and i knew that it's not gonna go till
20:37the
20:37end or probably i'll have my time so i was waiting for that oh yes i think i used to
20:43meet abhi's father
20:44often in the lift actually after the games so that's how i kind of my dad as abhi said i
21:04think
21:04uh my childhood definitely was very strict and he actually mentored both of us my elder brother we
21:11both are cricketers so i think as he rightly said i think they are the uh you make the statue
21:20you know
21:21like properly he has written the whole story okay that's how i think is this is all his vision and
21:27i'm
21:27very happy very happy it is uh coming true in fact i i again tell you the two stories abhishek's
21:35father
21:35has played very good competitive cricket at the first class level he used to have a bank job uh do
21:42one hour of his job and the rest of the hours in a day he would spend on abhishek becoming
21:46a better
21:46cricketer sanju's father was in delhi police here he left his job because uh you know even though i have
21:53a
21:53friend from delhi cricket here but delhi cricket you don't get too many chances so his father left
21:58delhi in a month moved back to kerala so that his you know even though he was uncertain about his
22:04job
22:04so that his son can get those chances going forward and i think it's the sacrifices that the two fathers
22:09made that these two are here so that's an incredible story from the two uh dads as well
22:18before you know i want to also talk to you a little bit about ipl that's coming up but before
22:22that because you know world cups done dusted you guys are world champions uh in india we are so
22:29obsessed with what's next so for indian fans the next thing is a odi world cup it's coming it's about
22:36a year uh away uh is there a drive is there a desire to even make the you've played odi
22:43cricket for india
22:44you are yet to make your debut but is there a desire to extend it from t20 and hopefully play
22:50odi cricket also i mean obviously the ultimate goal is to play all the formats as i can but uh
22:56i think i've uh i've stopped thinking about all these things because it's not in my hand i just
23:02going to follow my process which i've been taught in last two years by mr urat singh of course so
23:09i think
23:09that's the one thing that i've been following from last two years that's it's not the things which
23:14are not in my hands i shouldn't be worried about that i just need to perform and win the games
23:20whatever
23:20i'm playing right now so but obviously to uh odia is also you know it's a dream if i uh
23:26get to play
23:27that as well sanju how many icc titles do you have under 19 and this one two right sanju also
23:34two
23:34sanju world cup i think our country definitely has a habit of thinking yeah next but i agree that's
23:44a mystery yeah i would like to think what's happening now so i am still actually trying to
23:49sink in what has happened with me and the team like you wake up and it's like
23:54so i am still in that kind of a phase and i would like to enjoy that for a bit
23:59more longer because
24:01all these things don't happen often in your life as uh we all know and uh talking about the country
24:06which format i would like to play i am very happy what i am doing honestly very very happy very
24:14content
24:15i think i couldn't have asked for more than what we have done just recently like habit
24:20i am still there that with as many35 related competitors and nowines will have already
24:22very very happy and content and i am relaced just want to be enjoying what's happening now and i am
24:30very grateful does it do that in batting
24:33also one guy is a third guy is a third one will not hit anybody else
24:37then you can just pick six towing out there
24:40No one can tell him. He's a poker face. He can't tell if he'll kill or he'll kill. But he'll
24:47kill us.
24:51Somebody said, I agree with him. He said, when Sanju bats, he's like Muhammad Rafi.
24:57When Abhishek bats, he's like Kishore Kumar, R.D. Burman combined.
25:01That's true. The one that I heard was...
25:04No one has said, I've made it myself.
25:07I will borrow it from other people. The best description that I heard was that Sanju is like Zen mode.
25:14When he's batting, Zen mode doesn't look like he's scoring such aggressive runs.
25:19And the best way to describe Abhishek is, he's Virindar Sehwag on steroids.
25:23I think that's the best compliment that I've heard with Abhishek.
25:28But, you know, I'm going back to one knock of yours in the final.
25:33But it all started with that 97 that you get in Kolkata in a virtual quarter-final versus West Indies.
25:40I was trying to think, you know, I am a Sanju fan.
25:43But what you get with Sanju is, when he's on the crease, if he's in flow, he's not going to
25:47stop.
25:48He'll keep attacking, you know, till the bowlers get tired or he gets out.
25:51That knock was very different to me, 97.
25:55And because you took the game deep, you know, that's something that I've never seen with Sanju Samson.
26:00And then I was trying to wonder what changed.
26:02And then I saw, two days before that, Sanju Samson was in Chennai.
26:07Who was in Chennai? MS Dhoni is in Chennai.
26:10Who takes the game deep? MS Dhoni takes the game deep.
26:13Who's Sanju going to play in IPL this season? Chennai Super Kings.
26:19Thala for a reason.
26:22We won 7 runs.
26:30Always, a lot of respect to my boy and CSK.
26:33Very much excited to go and experience what's happening there.
26:37But that game was very different actually.
26:40It was completely...
26:42I'm thinking that it's happening.
26:43It's like completely...
26:45Most of the moments I felt that it's not me.
26:48It's something else only happening.
26:49So I just removed myself out of that zone.
26:52And I was just going through that zone.
26:54That was something special.
26:55And then more importantly, it was about team.
26:58So when I'm thinking that no match is finished,
27:01we are falling a wicket down.
27:02So whenever a wicket falls down,
27:04as I've led few years of IPL,
27:07I know this format can suddenly change.
27:09If one more wicket falls,
27:11I think the West Indies are going to win that game.
27:13So I didn't want to give up
27:14or didn't want to play a very risk-taking shot.
27:18So that's why I focused on a lot of boundaries.
27:20And batting in Eden Garden,
27:21second wicket, the dew coming, small grounds.
27:23I was luckily eating into the gaps
27:25and everything was happening properly.
27:26So that's what happened there.
27:28You know, incidentally,
27:30this is the 50th year of India today.
27:32This is the 50th anniversary of India today.
27:35And I was just looking at the posters.
27:36If you can also look around.
27:38So that's the real poster.
27:41Kapil Dev with the World Cup.
27:43Then this is the NatWest.
27:45Then the 2007 World Cup.
27:48Look around.
27:50See the others as well.
27:51I mean, India now is a cricketing powerhouse.
27:54Do you agree with that?
27:55Of course, the two of you are pillars while we talk about the Indian cricket.
28:02But do you agree with the fact that India now have a habit of winning big matches?
28:07And this was something we lacked for years.
28:08Yes.
28:09How has that killer instinct come?
28:10That's the second part of the question.
28:12Absolutely.
28:13Like, I totally accept and totally agree to what you are saying.
28:19So I feel that the amount of talent, the amount of skill sets and the amount of bench strength
28:26which this country has, if you have the right amount of culture and right environment in
28:30the dressing room, winning World Cup should be an habit like this.
28:34So, absolutely spot on what you said.
28:38You know, I was thinking, I gave Abhishek such a compliment.
28:41He liked it also.
28:42Now I've got one for Sanju.
28:44Which is, Sanju comes from Kerala.
28:46I've been to Kerala many times.
28:48And they've had cricketers from Kerala previously as well.
28:52But yet, football remained the number one sport there.
28:55I think with Sanju now, maybe cricket may have pipped football as the number one sport in Kerala.
29:02I'll tell you why.
29:03That's my question to Sanju.
29:04You won't believe the kind of fan following that he has.
29:07And it's not just in Kerala or in Dubai, where also you get a lot of people from Kerala.
29:14I've been to New Zealand and there are Sanju Samson fan armies.
29:19I've been to the Caribbean, there are Sanju Samson fan armies.
29:23I want to know, what is it that you feel that has you connected with fans across the globe?
29:30And this love.
29:31Abhishek, have you noticed this?
29:33I mean, we noticed in all the stadiums.
29:35So good question, even I want to hear.
29:39No, I think, yeah, I've also been a bit surprised experiencing all this.
29:44Definitely I do expect some amount in Kerala and Dubai as you rightly said.
29:48But experiencing this in New Zealand, experiencing this in West Indies was like a shocker.
29:54Like I still remember walking to bat, like I was playing a one day game and I was like batting
29:59at number five and I was walking into the ground.
30:01So you are in a different zone.
30:02So suddenly DJ was playing a lot of their local songs, English and everything.
30:08But the song changed and Malayalam's song began in the stadium.
30:28So I think that's the amount of love and support which I am receiving.
30:34So I have to admit that I am very humbled and I feel very fortunate that, as Abhi just rightly
30:40said, definitely we are playing.
30:42But our families pray us, our friends pray us.
30:45And so many people, if you like us, they are also praying for you.
30:49So definitely something was like that.
30:50So I think it all goes up to all the people who wish well for us and pray and support
30:55us.
30:56Do you guys also have a sneak peek at what the media is saying?
31:01Sometimes we criticize you and you feel bad.
31:04And how bad it feels?
31:07No, bad it is obviously if...
31:10I mean, slowly you get used to it.
31:14But even when you get used to it, it feels bad it feels a little bit.
31:17But I feel that's gonna happen in India because the amount of love, people show...
31:23And expectations.
31:24Expectations obviously, I mean.
31:26So in India, I think, when I was second zero,
31:32when I was second zero, Sky and Gigi, even HP Baaji also, three of them came to me.
31:39And they said, once again, their phone was stuck.
31:42And all the social media had given me.
31:44So I think that was the thing I did after the second zero, which actually helped me a bit.
31:50Obviously, I was getting a lot of, you know, suggestions,
31:54lot of comments from people that I wouldn't be expecting.
31:57So I think obviously it matters sometime.
32:00But that's how it's gonna be in the whole life, your cricketing career.
32:04You have to listen.
32:05You have to, you know, ignore.
32:06You have to...
32:07Because everybody has a lot of expectations from you.
32:10And sometimes you deliver, sometimes you don't.
32:12But that's how cricketers' life are.
32:15And I've expected it.
32:17So Sanju, Nikhil asked you about the Malayali fan clubs.
32:22So when you go out with Abhi, go to a mall, or a movie, or an event, or a party,
32:30is he the only one who's surrounded by girls?
32:34Because whenever I meet someone, they will only say,
32:38Abhi Sheik, one more time, Abhi Sheik, one more time.
32:42I said, I will also meet Abhi Sheik's daddy.
32:44But first, this I wanted to know.
32:48Right? He's the one.
32:49Yes, yes, absolutely.
32:49I think he's the superstar of the team.
32:51Wherever we go, like buses are surrounded by a lot of people.
32:56And he's the same name.
32:57Abhi Sheik!
33:07So as rightly said, I think he's the star which everyone loves.
33:12So I'm very, very happy for him.
33:17Okay, we're completely out of time.
33:20But before we go, I have to ask Sanju to do one thing for us.
33:23He is a massive, massive Rajini fan, I know.
33:26One more.
33:28Come on.
33:28Give us so much requests.
33:31One Rajini dialogue.
33:32One.
33:33A two.
33:34Only one.
33:34Oh, he wants two more.
33:36Come on.
33:36Tell us the film and the dialogue.
33:38I will.
33:39Yes, now.
33:42Okay.
33:46One more.
33:50One more.
33:52One more.
33:53One more.
33:54Please.
33:55One more.
33:55One more.
33:56One more.
33:56One more.
33:56One more.
33:56One more.
33:58One more.
33:59One more.
34:01One more.
34:02One more.
34:03This is a wonderful, wonderful audience.
34:04Thank you once again.
34:05Abhishek.
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