With two matches to go before their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, tournament co-hosts India are in strong rhythm, packed with an explosive batting line-up and efficient bowling attack. The bowling is arguably overdependent on Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy but the batting department seems to be in prime shape. However, there is one minor blip that the defending champions would want to address.
Sanju Samson could do no wrong in 2024 after being promoted to open the batting. He hammered three centuries in that year but then found himself sidelined for no reason in 2025. Shubman Gill's brief comeback stint saw him opening the batting apart from being the vice-captain. It didn't help Samson that his only series as opener in 2025, against England, was a dampener.
Samson tried to bat in the middle order but in T20Is, that's just not his game. Fast forward to 2026 and a lot has changed. India's obsession with fitting Gill into T20Is ended in shocking circumstances on the day of the World Cup squad announcement. While this meant automatic selection for Samson and a spot at the top in the XI, he now has a potential competitor in Ishan Kishan.
If Samson hadn't thought about this possibility earlier, he surely might have after Kishan's explosive 32-ball 76 in the second T20I against New Zealand. In fact, the selectors had also explained that their rationale behind Kishan's inclusion in the squad was to have a secondary wicket-keeper who can open the batting. Now, with a duck in Guwahati, Samson's problems have only increased, especially with Kishan playing another cameo of 28(13).
Samson now has 13 successive T20I innings without a fifty to his name. If we filter it down to his form as opener, the number of innings still stands at nine. That's a lot of games without a significant score, especially with the competition levels in this Indian team. Of course, Samson's role appears to be of a PowerPlay destructor but so is Abhishek Sharma and he is at no.1 in the ICC batting rankings.
It's taken just two innings on his T20I comeback for Kishan to make a massive statement. During his ballistic innings at Raipur, Kishan showed impeccable ball-striking and seemed to be at ease with clearing the long boundaries. At Guwahati, his stay was shorter but once again, Kishan looked in prime touch, oozing power and swagger in his ball-striking.
If Tilak Varma is ready to return, it would obviously be a toss up between Kishan and Samson for that one spot at the top of the order. For now, Samson's spot is extremely shaky after scores of 10, 6 and 0 in this series. At the same time, Kishan did fail in the first game with 8 but has then roared back with scores of 76(32) and 28(13). More importantly, Kishan seems to be batting with an exceptional level of self-confidence, something Samson seems to lack at the moment.
Kishan's recent form, even if the playing conditions and opposition can't be considered optimal, is exceptional and clearly, the southpaw is still carrying that unreal confidence into the national setup as well. With the World Cup also being played on home turf, India have a real selection puzzle for this one spot.
Considering how short-sighted the team management has been to failures - even Shubman Gill who was vice-captain got booted straight out of the squad - Samson has to be on his toes, if he wants to play his first ever international game on home turf in Thiruvananthapuram (January 31) which hosts the final game of this series.