Sanju Samson has managed just two fifties in 11 T20is since T20 World Cup 2026.
This comes after Sanju Samson’s scores of 5, 0, 1, 27, 10, 57, 50, 9, 7, 2, and 11 in his last 11 T20Is for India since the 2026 T20 World Cup. His two fifties occurred during an "away bilateral series" against Afghanistan in New Delhi, in between a string of bad scores during the Asian Games and the UK tour.
This came after he scored 97* in a do-or-die fixture against West Indies, 89 against England in the semifinals, and 89 in the final against New Zealand to win the player-of-the-tournament award in India’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Most people would agree that a player should be given a long rope if they performed well when it mattered most. It makes sense on the surface. The argument changes when you take into account the intense competition for the opener's spot.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are vying for the other position, while Abhishek Sharma has secured one for the time being. Hanuma Vihari, an Indian batsman, believes that Samson often feels under pressure and performs poorly when there is competition.
He highlighted Ishan Kishan's January comeback for India as an example of how the wicketkeeper-batter went through a slump.
After getting out for 11 in the opening T20I between India and the West Indies on Tuesday in Lucknow, Vihari claims that Samson is once again under pressure because Sooryavanshi is in the Indian team.
“The biggest question is Sanju Samson’s form. How many more failures can he afford? I am a very big fan of Sanju Samson. I would like Samson to play—he was a player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup. He didn’t score runs in the Asian Games but scored runs in the preceding series (against Afghanistan). But he failed in the first match of this series," Vihari said on his YouTube channel.
“Before the World Cup, when Ishan Kishan returned to the Indian team, he (Samson) felt insecure. Samson said in an interview that when there’s competition, he cannot perform. That’s why during the New Zealand series, when Ishan came back, Samson didn’t perform. And now Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is behind Samson. Sooryavanshi didn’t play in this match (1st T20I vs West Indies). He must be feeling the pressure. Sanju Samson must be feeling that pressure, especially because there is competition for places in the Indian team," he added.
Vihari says playing a sport involves pressure, but players must learn to handle it.
“Pressure plays a major role in cricket or any sport; it plays a big part. Most people don’t understand it. Cricketers do. 1.4 billion people are watching you—if not everyone, at least half of them—70 crores watching you makes a big difference. When you are playing for India, you should be able to handle pressure. Whether there’s competition or not, anyone will be feeling the pressure," Vihari said.
It remains to be seen how long Indian team management can back Sanju Samson and keep Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at bay.