Sanju Samson was demoted to the middle-order in T20Is last year.
During the Asia Cup 2025 in UAE, Shubman Gill’s return to the T20I fold as vice-captain saw Sanju Samson losing his spot at the top of the order.
After receiving some chances in the middle-order, the wicketkeeper-batter was completely sidelined from the playing XI, with Jitesh Sharma being given the first preference because of his match finishing abilities.
As Gill failed to hit a half-century in 15 innings, Samson was reinstated as India’s first-choice opener but the latter hasn’t been able to make opportunities count in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, returning with scores of 10, 6, 0 and 24 in four innings so far.
It remains to be seen if Samson gets one more chance to prove his worth in the series finale or the team management tries out Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma at the with T20 World Cup 2026 around the corner.
Ahead of the fifth T20I, ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan threw his weight behind Sanju Samson, saying the latter deserves a consistent spot in the top order
According to Pathan, Sanju’s demotion to the middle order was “unfair”. However, the former cricketer-turned-commentator acknowledged that if Kerala batter continues to struggle, the team management’s call to bring in Kishan would be logical.
"Personally, I would like to see Sanju Samson getting some runs and getting the position which he is there for a long period of time, because what happened was unfair to him, right? If Samson does not score runs and the team management replaces him with Ishan Kishan, you can understand that decision," Pathan told RevSportz.
Tilak Varma’s surgery for an abdominal issue allowed the Indian team management to accommodate both Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan in the playing XI against New Zealand.
With Tilak set to make a comeback during the T20 World Cup, the Gautam Gambhir-led management faces a tough decision to choose between Samson and Kishan.
Pathan stressed the importance of having players like Tilak in the squad, praising his ability to play under pressure.
"I think this approach is really good, but I really think in this team, guys like Tilak Varma are very important. Because when there is pressure, or when the ball starts to grip, he will come into play, because he plays percentage cricket. In this team everyone plays aggressive, which is fantastic, but you need a player like Tilak Varma," Pathan remarked.
India will begin their T20 World Cup title defence on February 7 against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.
India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sunder, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy