All posts tagged: Sanju Samson

Samson on quitting India selection ‘rat race’

Samson on quitting India selection ‘rat race’

Published by Webster

4 min readJul 28, 2026 09:05 AM IST Four months since steering India to T20 World Cup glory with his sensational knockout performances, Sanju Samson was supposed to build on the success at home, but has instead fallen out of the national side once again. Over a decade has passed since his international debut and his subsequent stop-start journey that eventually culminated in his first major contribution for the national side, earning him the Player of the Series award at the T20 World Cup. But the 31-year-old Samson revealed that he was done chasing the national team selection shortly before the World Cup when his batting form had hit a wall. “I realised that there is a constant rat race in our country, and I decided before the 2026 T20 World Cup that I would not be part of it. I just want to enjoy the game. By God’s grace, I have achieved a lot. I am 31 now, and I have a few years left. So, I have decided to play on my own …

Kris Srikkanth on Abhishek Sharma

Kris Srikkanth on Abhishek Sharma

Published by Webster

2 min readJul 27, 2026 05:05 PM IST Indian opener Abhishek Sharma failed to deliver in all three games against Zimbabwe in the series that concluded on Sunday. In all three of his innings, Sharma could not deal with Blessing Muzarambani and the bounce he created on placid surfaces. In the series before this against England and Ireland too, Abhishek did not look his usual self with the bat. Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth said teams have started to figure out Abhishek and that Sanju Samson will return to the Indian side soon. “Abhishek Sharma has been sorted out (by opponents) in international cricket, right from the World Cup. I think a tough call has to be taken against him now. I feel Sanju will get his chance again now. He will receive a call back 100%. The selectors will have to take a tough call,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel. In his last 10 innings, Abhishek has registered only 191 runs with a solitary half-century. Notably, the southpaw has been …

India batter questions Sanju Samson’s T20I snub

India batter questions Sanju Samson’s T20I snub

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Jul 27, 2026 08:24 AM IST Abhishek Sharma’s prolonged run of poor scores has led to criticism of the team management for their ‘unfair’ preference for the left-handed opener over wicket-keeper Sanju Samson, who was dropped from the T20I squad ahead of the Zimbabwe series that concluded on Sunday. Out-of-favour India batter Hanuma Vihari questioned why Abhishek has received firm backing from the management while Samson was sidelined despite leading India to T20 World Cup glory with three back-to-back match-winning knocks. ALSO READ | Laxman on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: ‘His maturity has skyrocketed in last 6 months’ “Before the World Cup, Sanju Samson did not perform in five games and lost his spot in the starting 11. He then made a comeback and became Player of the Tournament. In that same tournament, how many runs did Abhishek Sharma make? “In the UK series, apart from one fifty, there were no scores at all. Not even 20s and 30s, no significant score. One fifty in the last eight matches. If you include the World …

String of poor returns sparks questions on how long Abhishek Sharma’s ‘longer rope’ is

String of poor returns sparks questions on how long Abhishek Sharma’s ‘longer rope’ is

Published by Webster

3 min readNew DelhiJul 25, 2026 06:05 PM IST Abhishek Sharma’s dismissal in India’s second T20I against Zimbabwe on Saturday was, paradoxically, both an anomaly and entirely familiar. An anomaly because of how it unfolded. Sharma – the world’s No. 1-ranked T20I batter not too long ago – meekly pushed a Blessing Muzarabani delivery straight to Ryan Burl at backward point. Stripped of context, it could easily have passed for a routine fielding drill. This manner of departure – on a whimper, and not aplomb – is not in synchronisation with the southpaw’s batting style. But while it seems like an exception in isolation, it was the 10th time in his last 17 T20Is that Sharma had fallen for 10 or fewer, raising fresh questions about how long the ‘longer rope’ the team management has given him is. Sharma’s form took a nosedive during the initial stages of this year’s T20 World Cup, wherein he was dismissed for a duck on three consecutive occasions. The rut effectively ended with a 55 against this very opposition, …

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi slams maiden India half century in 1st T20I vs Zimbabwe

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi slams maiden India half century in 1st T20I vs Zimbabwe

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Jul 23, 2026 07:31 PM IST India teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi slammed his maiden half century for India in the first T20I match vs Zimbabwe in Harare on Thursday. The 15-year-old prodigy brought up his milestone 50 in 18 deliveries in an innings studded with 4 fours and 4 sixes. became the youngest player in the world to score a fifty in men’s international cricket. However, he could not last long after scoring his half century, going down to Richard Ngarava in the very next ball. This was the same ground where Sooryavanshi had lit up the Under-19 World Cup in January with a match-winning 80-ball 175 against England in the final. He had made his highly anticipated India senior debut in the England series in the second T20I after replacing Sanju Samson. He was given three matches, including the 3rd and 4th T20Is but was ultimately replaced by Samson for the 5th match. Sooryavanshi scored 14, 13 and 15 in the three matches in the series which India ultimately lost 4-0. …

‘Criticising him after just 2 or 3 matches not justified’

‘Criticising him after just 2 or 3 matches not justified’

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 21, 2026 07:31 PM IST Ahead of the T20I series against India, Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza lauded teen prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying he could become a generational talent if managed well. Raza also said that criticizing the 15-year-old player after an ordinary start to his senior career was not justified. Sooryavanshi had made his highly anticipated debut in the England series in the second T20I after replacing Sanju Samson. He was given three matches, including the 3rd and 4th T20Is but was ultimately replaced by Samson for the 5th match. Sooryavanshi scored 14, 13 and 15 in the three matches in the series which India ultimately lost 4-0. “Vaibhav is a supremely talented cricketer. If a 15-year-old kid is playing international cricket, criticising him after just two or three matches isn’t justified. I think Vaibhav has a lot of very good senior cricketers around him. If he is managed and handled well, I think Vaibhav could be a generational talent,” Raza said on JioStar. “To see what he has done over the …

Iyer on why Samson replaced Sooryavanshi in fifth T20I: ‘Won so many series for us’ | Cricket News

Iyer on why Samson replaced Sooryavanshi in fifth T20I: ‘Won so many series for us’ | Cricket News

Published by Webster

India lost their fourth straight T20I against England in Southampton on Saturday, losing the series 4-0 and surrendering the number one ranking to their opponents. A major talking point was the exclusion of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the return of Sanju Samson for the last game, who made 27 runs in the 258-run chase. Captain Shreyas Iyer explained the reasoning behind the decision, stating that the team wanted a right-hander to open the batting with Abhishek Sharma and they wanted to try a new combination. “We needed to try the best combination that would be perfect in these conditions. And we also wanted a right-hander to go on with Abhishek (Sharma). So, that was one of the major reasons. And if you see, I was the only one out of all the left-handers who was a right-hander,” Iyer said in the post-match press conference. ALSO READ | Dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has exposed a lack of clarity from Gambhir and Iyer “So, as I mentioned earlier, we wanted to try a different combination which would be suitable …

Dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has exposed a lack of clarity from Gambhir and Iyer | Cricket News

Dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has exposed a lack of clarity from Gambhir and Iyer | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readJul 11, 2026 08:49 PM IST India have benched, for a single match, a player they have already picked ahead of the man replacing him for the Zimbabwe tour that follows it. That is the contradiction sitting underneath Southampton, where the fifth T20I between India and England got underway a short while ago. FOLLOW LIVE: IND vs ENG 5th T20I Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was left out of the playing XI, with Sanju Samson returning to the side. Samson, however, is not part of India’s squad for the three-match T20I series in Zimbabwe later this month. Sooryavanshi is. On the face of it, the decision to drop Sooryavanshi seems justifiable. He has recorded scores of 13, 14 and 15 in his first three T20Is. With the team struggling for form and down 3-0 in the series, young players are not guaranteed a longer rope, and the management may have felt experience was the safer option. But set against India’s recent decisions, this latest change raises a larger question about the direction Gautam Gambhir and …

India vs England 5th T20I Playing 11: Can Tilak retain spot in XI today? | Cricket News

India vs England 5th T20I Playing 11: Can Tilak retain spot in XI today? | Cricket News

Published by Webster

2 min readJul 11, 2026 12:40 PM IST India vs England 5th T20I predicted playing XI: Smarting from their second consecutive series defeat, Shreyas Iyer’s India will aim to wrap up their T20I tour to England with a win during the fifth and last match at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday. With injuries and poor form ravaging the batting and bowling departments, India have looked anything but a World Cup-winning outfit throughout the tour. After suffering their biggest-ever defeat by runs (125) in the third T20I in Nottingham, India waged poorly with the bat in the following game in Bristol. Managing only 158 runs, India were thwarted by a powerful England chase led by captain Harry Brook. The defeat marked India’s first-ever T20I series defeat to England in a series that comprised at least two games. With pacer Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy ruled out of the final match owing to their hamstring injuries, there is not a lot of tinkering that India can afford to do during the final game. India vs England …

Kris Srikkanth says Tilak Varma is ‘clueless’ and says he would pick Sanju Samson

Kris Srikkanth says Tilak Varma is ‘clueless’ and says he would pick Sanju Samson

Published by Webster

2 min readJul 9, 2026 05:04 PM IST Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth did not mince his words. He said Tilak Varma is clueless and India should play Sanju Samson in his place. “He’s already the vice-captain, and it looks like he’ll soon become the captain also. Tilak Varma might have himself said he doesn’t want to go out, seeing the pace and bounce. Tilak Varma is clueless. I would rather play Sanju Samson himself instead of Tilak Varma,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel. Samson, who had a brilliant T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, followed it up with a good Indian Premier League season for the Chennai Super Kings. However, in the series against Ireland and the first match of the five-match T20I series against England, Samson was not able to perform, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was drafted in his place. If Samson were to replace Tilak, he will get a slot in the middle-order, which in the past he has batted for India without not a lot of success. The pitch in the second …