Sanju Samson has cemented his place in team India, especially in T20 cricket. Samson was in the squad, but wasn’t included in the final eleven. Specifically, before the T20 World Cup, Sanju Samson completely flopped in the three-match T20 series against New Zealand at home. Looking at his very disappointing performance, the team management included him as an extra wicketkeeper, not as the primary wicketkeeper in the team for on going T20 world cup 2026.
And that’s exactly what happened: Sanju Samson played as the 12th man, and Ishan Kishan replaced him as the primary wicketkeeper and opening batsman. However, when the primary opening batsman, Abhishek Sharma, performed poorly in the group stage, head coach Gautam Gambhir began considering Sanju, who was allowed to open the innings in the two matches before the West Indies match. Despite getting good starts there, he couldn’t score more than 22/25 runs.
But his luck began to shine when he got a chance to play in the last Super Eight match against the West Indies, which was a very important match from India’s point of view, as the loser of this match would be out of the World Cup.
West Indies, batting first, posted a mammoth total of 195. Chasing the target, India lost Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan cheaply. It was at this very moment that Sanju played an unforgettable innings. Sanju played a memorable innings of 97 runs off 50 balls, which included 12 fours and four majestic sixes.
India won the match by losing 5 wickets and with 4 balls to spare. Tilak Varma’s 27 was the second-highest score among India’s batters. No Indian batter, except Sanju Samson, managed to score more than 15 to 20 runs. Thanks to the incredible 97-run nut-out innings of Sanju Samson.
Sanju single-handedly took India to the semi-finals. With that heroic innings in mind, it seems certain that Sanju Samson will be in the playing XI for the T20 World Cup semi-final against England. And if India reaches the final, Sanju is sure to play there too.
