The former India selector also said that Abhishek Sharma should use the series against Afghanistan as a way to bounce back from his recent international slump
Published: September 12, 2026, 4:48 PM IST
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File photo of Sarandeep Singh (L) and Abhishek Sharma (R)(Credits: X and IANS)
Former India off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, who is a part of the South Delhi Superstarz team which recently won the 2026 Delhi Premier League T20, made his intentions clear about Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan’s situation in the playing XI, Abhishek Sharma’s poor run of form and much more ahead of the upcoming three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan.
The reigning world T20 champions will play all three of the matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital with the series opener taking place tomorrowIt will be an important three matches for the Indians, who dealt with plenty of inconsistency earlier in the summer.
They did whitewash Zimbabwe 3-0 back in July but they returned winless from their T20I tour of Europe where Ireland and England blanked them with dominating series winsA key reason behind those losses were the failures of the top-order, especially the top two.
Sanju Samson, who was adjudged Player of the tournament at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, was dropped after a couple of matches due to his poor run of form which opened the door for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut but the teenager looked clueless as well.
Abhishek Sharma also had a tough time and he also evidently struggled in ZimbabweHowever, at number three, Ishan Kishan has been untouchable, thanks to his tremendous form since returning to the national set-up right before the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
With talks of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making his debut in India and Ishan Kishan holding the number three position, there are clouds looming over Sanju Samson and his roleIn an exclusive chat with India.com, Sarandeep Singh stated that Sooryavanshi will get his shot and putting Samson in at number three doesn’t do justice to his position and therefore Kishan remains an automatic choice.
“Especially at number three, if you talk about Ishan Kishan, definitelyHe is in tremendous form in the way he batted in the Duleep Trophy in red-ball cricketHe is maturing day by day, month by month, every series he is looking good and better for us,” Sarandeep Singh told India.com.
“I think Ishan Kishan is the automatic choice and he did really well in the IPL also, and in other T20Is whenever he got an opportunity, he scored runsBecause Sanju Samson is a proper opener; I’m not seeing Sanju Samson batting at number three, that’s not doing justice to himSo especially, I think Ishan Kishan has cemented that number three place by scoring a lot of runs, so they will go with him as well,” Sarandeep added.
Sarandeep Singh then spoke of Abhishek Sharma’s recent slump in form which saw him score 2, 8, 1, 3, 16 and 10 in his last six inningsWhen asked if Abhishek should change his approach, the 46-year-old completely denied, stating that it’s his temperament which has brought him success.
The former selector acknowledged that Abhishek has struggled recently and that’s why it will be important for him to bounce back against Afghanistan.
“I don’t think so he has to change his approach, because this is the way he played and got a lot of success over the last two yearsWe’ve seen him reach the ICC T20 number one ranking and perform really well in the past as well.
Yeah, definitely, in the last few games we can say that he is not performing that wellThe only reason for me, his worried reason, we can say, is that he plays only one format: T20IsOther than that, he doesn’t play any other formatSo for him, it is very important that in these three T20Is, he needs to perform well,” Sarandeep Singh said.
Sarandeep further said that it’s time Abhishek starts taking more responsibility, especially now that he has become a senior figure in the team, it’s natural for him to take ownership and let someone like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi be the more explosive and expressive one.
“He has become a senior player now; he is no longer a youngster whom we are testing outVaibhav Sooryavanshi will be given the role to go out and express himself freely and play his shots, but Abhishek Sharma now needs to take that responsibility himselfWhen you’ve been part of the team for a year or two, you don’t always need to be guided on every roleAs a senior, you need to take ownership,”
Where to watch India vs Afghanistan, T20I series?
All the matches in the India vs Afghanistan 2026 T20 series will be broadcasted live on the FanCode app and website.
