4 min readMar 2, 2026 01:52 PM IST Former England captain Michael Atherton heaped praise on Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, referring to how he had become “the toast of India” after his unbeaten innings of 97 runs in 50 balls against the West Indies in Kolkata took the co-hosts into the semifinal, where they will play England on Thursday. Atherton referred to how the 31-year-old had gone from not being considered for a place in the playing XI to becoming a national hero in the space of a week. “Samson never looked worried, though, despite the loss of Sharma — who is having a poor tournament — Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav by the halfway stage. Varma provided timely acceleration but this was Samson’s show. When he hit the winning runs, he went down on both knees, spread his arms wide and looked to the heavens, just about holding his emotions in check. A week ago, he was nowhere; on Sunday, he became the toast of India,” he wrote in his column for The Times. The …