Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has lavished rich praise on India keeper-batter Sanju Samson and compared his fan following to legends like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni. Karthik’s words came ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final between India and England.

India qualified for the semi-final thanks to a brilliant 97*-run knock by Sanju Samson against the West Indies. Samson’s brilliant chase job helped India chase down the 196-run target in Kolkata and take India into the knockouts.

Samson had played only one group stage game, against Namibia, as India preferred Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan as openers. But the Super 8s' loss to South Africa and the tragedy with Rinku Singh led to India going back to Sanju as the opener, and it worked well.

He broke India’s left-handed monotony at the top and allowed Tilak to bat at his preferred no. 5 spot, where he could hammer the pacers and not deal with spinners.

Dinesh Karthik, a former India wicketkeeper, praised Samson's performance and compared him to India legends who have the country's biggest fan following.

“Sanju Samson is a fantastic story, I feel. Yes, he played that wonderful innings. He is someone who has always been an enigma. People have loved him. He is, for me, the most loved cricketer. Virat [Kohli], Rohit [Sharma], [MS] Dhoni—he seems to have that kind of fan following. There is something about how he carries himself.

What I’ve liked in that story is that he has seen plenty of ups and downs. The weight and burden of expectations have not been easy on him, even though he is so talented. That day, that ground, after the three months he had, they almost had to thrust him in, and he did what he did in Calcutta,” Karthik said on Sky Sports Cricket.

Karthik also opined that he’d have Samson opening the innings right from the start of the T20 World Cup, despite his poor form, as there were many match-ups. Samson, as an opener, has foiled the opposition's plans to attack India with off-spinners right at the start.

“I would have gone for him purely for matchups. Off-spinners were really troubling India. They were constantly not getting those starts that they get. The pitches have been hard, but they want to live up to the reputation, and that did not work. Off-spinners troubled Abhishek. He did not have the conviction that he normally has. I feel that’s got to do with the fact that he got ill at the wrong time. I can look at him and feel like he lacks a bit of muscle,” he said.

India and England will meet in the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the third consecutive edition.