Sanju Samson played a blazing 57-run knock off 22 balls in the second T20I against Afghanistan.
Sanju Samson finally managed to get a big score next to his name in T20I cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter shone in the T20 World Cup 2026 by winning the Player of the Tournament award, but he has failed to replicate that consistency after India’s title victory. In the Indian Premier League that followed the world event, Samson did register big scores, but once again, consistency was missing. A similar showing from the veteran after resuming international cricket saw Team India give opportunities to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
However, for the first two T20Is against Afghanistan, India backed Samson, and he repaid the faith shown in him with a blazing 57-run knock off 22 balls in the most recent game. His innings was laced with seven fours and four sixes.
Former India players Mohit Sharma and Mohammad Kaif heaped praise on Samson following his knock against Afghanistan.
“The world champions played like world champions. Sanju Samson batted amazingly. At times, we are too quick to judge him. But the way he has batted, debate band kardi (ended the debate),” Mohit told Cricbuzz during a discussion.
Adding to it, Kaif said, “The biggest thing is that Sanju Samson has scored runs.”
The former international batter further pointed out that Sooryavanshi entered Team India’s playing XI picture due to Samson’s inconsistency. He added that if the wicketkeeper-batter performs consistently, Sooryavanshi will remain benched.