"If There's A Mallu In A World Cup India Never Lose": World No. 1 Star Affirms Viral Sanju Samson Meme

After the T20 World Cup 2026, a meme went viral saying that when a player from Kerala plays in a marquee event, India never lose. The cases in point were Sanju Samson (T20 World Cup 2026) and Sreesanth (2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup). Samson turned up his game at the T20 World Cup with three straight half-centuries vs West Indies (Super 8), England (semi-final) and New Zealand (final). Talking about the feat, Samson's India teammate Varun Chakaravarthy affirmed the viral meme.

"There's a meme that's gotten popular. It says, 'If there's a Mallu involved in a World Cup, we never lose.' It's true. The masterstroke was getting him back into the XI," Chakaravarthy, who is the world No. 1 T20I bowler, was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Another of Samson's teammates, Mohammed Siraj, also praised Samson. "West Indies was crucial because we had lost to South Africa by a big margin. Sanju came into the team, and he found himself suddenly in knockout matches. But it was a script written for God's favourite child," Siraj said.

Samson shared that while he had long dreamed of winning a World Cup, his journey followed its own unpredictable path, likening it to a movie. The turning point for him came during the Zimbabwe game, when he shifted focus from personal performance to fulfilling the team's needs.

"Not yet, I am still like, when I get up in the morning, I'm like, 'has it really happened'. So honestly, that's the feeling. But I feel that in the coming years, with the quality of players we have in our country, this is going to be repeated. The number of players who are coming up... definitely India is going to do this more and more often. You can only dream where you want to go, but you can't definitely ride the path towards it," he said. "So my life or my career has been one of the best examples. I definitely wanted to do this a couple of years ago," Samson said about the T20 World Cup win.