Sanju Samson played only five matches of the T20 World Cup 2026.
From warming the bench in the initial fixtures to becoming one of the key architects behind India’s triumph in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, the redemption arc of Sanju Samson has come full circle. But just a day after lifting the coveted title, head coach Gautam Gambhir has opened up about the main reason behind re-including him in the team’s playing XI.
After the five T20Is at home against New Zealand, the swashbuckling pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan were all set to open the innings for India in the T20 World Cup 2026. The shift came due to Samson’s persistent lean patch, who managed to put up just 46 runs in the preceding series. But things did not really unfold as planned for the defending champions.
Abhishek’s unavailability due to health issues provided Sanju with an opportunity to feature in a league-stage game, and the gloveman had grabbed it with both hands to score a 22-run cameo off just eight balls against Namibia.
As the tournament progressed, a continuous struggle against off-spin was becoming a template for the opposition to dismiss the Indian openers, and the 31-year-old was recalled into the starting XI. However, Gambhir has revealed that the decision was solely based on increasing the team’s batting depth.
“The reason to get in Sanju was not about managing the off-spinner from the other end. It was about can we get even more firepower at the top and can we be more aggressive in the first six overs. Imagine having Abhishek, Sanju, and Ishan as your top three, and then you’ve got the likes of Surya, Hardik, Tilak, Shivam, and Axar, you can’t ask for anything more,” he stressed in a Star Sports video.
“There was never any doubt about his talent. Lot of people will debate about that we wanted to break that three left-handers at the top. Not at all. Because I still believe that a quality batter will be good against any bowler, whether it’s the off-spinner or the left-arm spinner,” he added.
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The wicketkeeper-batter admitted in the post-match presentation of the final that after the underwhelming outing against the Black Caps, he had lost all his hopes of making it again to India’s line-up in the T20 World Cup 2026. But Samson proved to be India’s key match-winner in their record-breaking third-time victory, notching up a 97 not out and two 89s in three successive knockout fixtures.
He has been awarded the Player of the Tournament for his 321 runs in five matches of the T20 World Cup 2026. The opener has also surpassed the former Indian captain Virat Kohli to register the most runs for India in the knockouts of a single edition of the event.
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