Samson has produced scores of 10, 6, 0 and 24 in four T20Is against New Zealand.
Despite producing paltry scores of 10, 6, 0, and 24, Samson has received backing from the Indian team management ahead of the series finale.
Addressing the media on the eve of the fifth T20I in Thiruvananthapuram, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak threw his weight behind Samson, insisting that a slump in form has not shaken the team management’s belief in the wicketkeeper-batter.
“Sanju is a senior player, he is very good. He probably has not scored as many runs as everybody would like, but that's part of the cricketing career. Sometimes you have five innings in a row where you score so many runs and sometimes you have a little tight period,” Kotak told reporters.
“It's all up to an individual how to keep his mind strong and, obviously, our job is to keep him in a good frame of mind. He is practicing and he is working hard, so we all know what Sanju is capable of. I don't think anything more to say about Sanju because he has been really good,” he added.
Kotak also stressed the importance of recent white-ball fixtures against New Zealand and South Africa as India fine-tune their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2026.
“It's been a very important series for us. It is obviously useful because before the World Cup you kind of start getting into a rhythm, you start finding the combinations and you try and give players an opportunity,” he said. “All that you can do when we are playing. So, these five games, and obviously, before that South Africa (series) is also very useful for us.”
Commenting on team combination, Kotak hinted that Ishan Kishan is likely to return for the final T20I after missing the penultimate match due to a niggle.
“Ishan Kishan has always been good whenever he got an opportunity. Sometimes wicketkeeper batters don't get opportunities. But whenever Ishan has played, he has always done well,” he stated. “And very likely (he will play), at the moment, as far as I know. The physio is here for practice. So, physios will take a call. But I feel very likely.”
Team India look to be in belligerent form ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026. While the Men in Blue won the series opener against New Zealand by 48 runs, they chased down 209 and 154 in 15.2 and 10 overs during the second and third T20Is to emerge victorious by seven wickets and eight wickets respectively.
Kotak credited the presence of naturally aggressive players such as Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Abhishek Sharma for allowing India to maintain an attacking approach throughout the series.
The batting coach had special praise reserved for Abhishek. “He does speak to Gautam, he does speak to me and Surya and some other players also. So, he is very open to everything.”
Kotak was pleased to see skipper Suryakumar finding his mojo with consecutive half-centuries after an extended lean patch.
“There will be a dry patch in T20s and you still have to go hard, you still have to play for the team, which is what he did. So glad that he got a good two innings, that's a good sign for the team anyway,” Kotak said.