T20 WC: End of the road for Sanju Samson?

The writing had been on the wall for Sanju Samson for some time. A modest return of 49 runs across the five-match T20I series against New Zealand left him short of time to secure his place, especially with Ishan Kishan scripting a compelling comeback to the Indian setup after a two-year absence.

Kishan’s maiden T20I century and a half-century in the series virtually forced the team management’s hand, making it increasingly untenable to persist with an out-of-form opener on the eve of a T20 World Cup defence.

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On Wednesday, the Indian think tank made the expected move, unveiling a fresh opening combination by promoting Kishan to partner Abhishek Sharma in the first warm-up fixture ahead of the tournament, which begins on February 7.

At the toss, captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed the change—an unmistakable signal that Samson’s World Cup prospects may have taken a significant hit.

“We are going to bat first. It is something we have been doing well. There might be some dew later in the evening, so we want to test our bowlers in challenging conditions and defend whatever total we get,” Suryakumar said.

Samson’s position has been under scrutiny for several months. Ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, he opened alongside Abhishek Sharma and produced steady returns. However, the subsequent inclusion of Shubman Gill altered the balance at the top, pushing Samson into the middle order. The shift disrupted his rhythm and sparked calls for his reinstatement as an opener.

Gill’s lean patch and sluggish strike rate eventually prompted selectors to recall Kishan following a prolific Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign. Yet Samson was handed a final extended run during the New Zealand series, featuring in all five matches despite his lack of returns.

Kishan, meanwhile, batted at No.3 and notched up his maiden T20I century. The management’s thinking became clearer when Kishan was entrusted with the wicketkeeping duties in the fifth T20I.

The decision to elevate Kishan to the top paid immediate dividends on Wednesday. At the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, around 30 kilometres from the Wankhede Stadium, where India begin their title defence against the USA on Saturday, Kishan set the tone with a scintillating 20-ball 53.

What stood out was not just the pace of Kishan’s scoring, but the fact that he outpaced even the ultra-aggressive Abhishek at the other end. The left-hander from Ranchi wasted no time, launching two sixes in the opening over to underline the management’s faith in the left-handed opening pair as the World Cup draws closer.

Abhishek, unusually measured early on, soon found his range, stitching together a hat-trick of boundaries off Corbin Bosch to complement Kishan’s assault. By the time Abhishek struck his first six of the evening—off the opening ball of the fifth over—India had already raced to 50.

Kishan remained in ominous touch throughout, dismantling Anrich Nortje with three sixes and a four as he closed in on his half-century. He brought up the milestone in style, depositing Mphaka over the long-on boundary in the following over, before retiring out after providing India with an ideal platform.

Notably, there was no sign of Samson at No.3 either, nor even in the top six.

Instead, Tilak Varma (45 off 19 balls) made a spectacular return to India colours after recovering from testicular surgery, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who announced his arrival with a six off Nortje, also struck a brisk 16-ball 30. Axar Patel and Rinku Singh rounded out the top six as India surged towards a massive total.

For Samson, however, this may well have been the final verdict. Omitted from the top six as India locked in their preferred combinations in a rematch of the 2024 T20 World Cup final, the Kerala right-hander appears to have fallen out of the selectors’ plans at the worst possible time.