With a career plagued by inconsistency, Samson finds himself at crossroads again ahead of T20 World Cup 2026

More than 10 years after making his international debut, Sanju Samson finds himself at the crossroads yet again ahead of the T20 World Cup, beginning next month.

Despite the team management making way for Samson to open the innings with the marauding Abhishek Sharma by leaving Shubman Gill out of the T20I side, the Kerala batter hasn’t helped his case with scores of 10, 6 and 0 in the ongoing series against the Kiwis.

A batter of undeniable talent and elegance, Samson’s career has been plagued by inconsistency, preventing him from cementing his place in the Indian white-ball setup.

With the Suryakumar Yadav-led team adopting an aggressive brand of T20 cricket, the hallmark of which has been maximising the fielding restrictions during the PowerPlay, Samson is increasingly under pressure to get off the blocks in a flash, a method that doesn’t seem to suit his style of batting.

In 47 T20I innings for India, Samson has been dismissed in the first 10 balls on 25 occasions, averaging a mere 17.87 during this phase of his innings. Meanwhile, his strike rate, too, has been a sedate 117.85 in the first 10 deliveries that he faces.

His hit-or-miss approach has been more pronounced ever since he started opening the batting with Abhishek during the home series against Bangladesh in October 2024. In the 16 innings he has opened the batting since, he has been dismissed within the first 10 balls as many as 10 times, averaging just 16.10. However, with Abhishek at the other end, Samson’s strike rate has surged to 141.22 during this phase of the innings.

Samson’s boom-or-bust approach in the PowerPlay is indicative of the way India wants to build its innings. It is therefore not too surprising that in the 16 matches Samson and Abhishek have opened the innings, the pair has not gone unscathed through the PowerPlay even once.

In 47 T20I innings for India, Sanju Samson has been dismissed in the first 10 balls on 25 occasions, averaging a mere 17.87 during this phase of his innings. 
| Photo Credit:
AP

However, with Abhishek taking on the mantle of the aggressor with elan, Samson has the wiggle room to assume a more tempered role early in his innings. The method he adopted during his purple patch, which included three hundreds in five innings in late 2024, exemplifies the impact Samson can have if he takes his time to settle in. Samson didn’t exactly explode from the get-go when he notched up those tons; against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, he scored 20 off his first 10 deliveries, while in Durban and Johannesburg, he was on 16 and 14, respectively, at that stage.

Samson, though he may be tempted to model himself after Abhishek in a team bent on high-intent cricket, can afford to take his time before shifting gears, which he most often does seamlessly.

With the team management also backing him, Samson has some breathing space to mend his ways.

“Sanju is one knock away from finding his form back. We all know the cliche that form is temporary. Building up to the World Cup, it’s important for the guys to find that peak performance at the right time. He’s training well; he’s hitting the ball very well. It’s just a matter of time for him to get a score on board,” India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel said ahead of the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

However, with the T20 World Cup looming and an in-form Ishan Kishan breathing down his neck, the clock is ticking for the 31-year-old.

Published on Jan 28, 2026