India will kickoff the T20 World Cup 2026 against USA on February 7.
Sanju Samson’s opening spot for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 came under scrutiny following his failure to notch up a counterattacking knock, despite an early dropped chance during the chase in the second India vs New Zealand match in Raipur.
While many experts and fans voiced for pairing Ishan Kishan with the swashbuckling opener Abhishek Sharma for the mega ICC event, former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the right-hander to retain his spot.
Ashwin opined that the management should not replace Samson at the top of the batting order with an in-form Ishan Kishan. While the former is still struggling to find his rhythm after multiple changes in his batting positions, the latter has put up a quickfire, match-winning knock, returning to the side after more than two years.
“If India keeps doing such circus acts by playing Sanju when he did well before, and now Kishan because he’s playing well now, I don’t have to tell how it’ll end for India. It’s not ideal inside the dressing room. There is a lot of competition for places, but it’s too early for this change,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
Previously, multiple decisions of the Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir and the management had faced severe criticism from the fans and pundits, including the sudden omission of vice-captain Shubman Gill just before the T20 World Cup 2026.
Amidst the escalating debate over Samson’s opening spot, Ashwin believes that it would be “very unfair” to exclude the 31-year-old from the Men in Blue’s playing XI in the upcoming T20 championship.
“It’ll be very unfair. This opening combination has been reverted only for the last two games. A player has got out playing an attacking shot. If you penalize him for that and bench him, how will you witness the best of that player?” noted the former player.
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The Abhishek-Samson partnership was working well for India, providing some blistering starts to the side. During the period, the gloveman was also carrying on a fierce run of form, scoring back-to-back tons against Bangladesh and South Africa, followed by another hundred in the series final facing the Proteas.
But since including Gill in India’s T20I setup as Abhishek’s opening partner during the Asia Cup 2025, Samson has faced multiple changes in his batting positions and could not put up consistent performances.
However, with Tilak Varma returning to the side and Kishan continuing his stellar form, the upcoming three matches against the Black Caps would be crucial for the keeper to retain his playing XI spot for the T20 World Cup 2026. Notably, Samson has managed only 16 runs in the initial two fixtures so far.
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