Sanju Samson has only managed to score 179 runs in 11 innings since the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign earlier this year
Published: October 8, 2026, 11:31 AM IST
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (left) and Sanju Samson (middle) on the podium at the Asian Games 2026(Photo: IANS)
India vs West Indies 2026 2nd T20: Team India opener Sanju Samson is feeling the head just one game into the five-match T20I series against the West Indies which got underway earlier this weekSince his heroics in the T20 World Cup 2026, Samson has been inconsistent with the bat to say the leastAfter forgettable campaign at Asian Games 2026, Samson was dismissed was 11 off 9 balls in the first T20I at Lucknow on Tuesday.
The Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper has only managed to score 179 runs in 11 innings after the T20 World Cup 2026 at an average of 16.27Out of these 11 innings, Samson has had six single figure scoresHis only fifties in the last few months came in the 2nd and 3rd T20I match against Afghanistan in New Delhi in August.
With Samson in the playing 11, Team India have been unable to give 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a consistent run in the T20I sideSooryavanshi got the opportunity against Zimbabwe in the three-match T20I series when Samson was rested and walked away with ‘Player of the Series’ award with a couple of fifties.
The Rajasthan Royals youngster also scored an important 38 off 21 balls in the Asian Games 2026 semifinal against Sri Lanka, in his first game back into the Indian playing 11On a difficult pitch in Nisshin, Samson only managed 7 and followed that up with 2 in the gold medal match against Pakistan.
Sanju Samson after the T20 World Cup
Vs Ireland
0 (1), 5 (4)Vs England
27 (14), 1 (7)Vs Afghanistan
50 (35), 57 (22), 10 (8)Vs Japan
9 (7)Asian Games
2 (4) vs Pakistan, 7 (9) vs Sri LankaVs West Indies
11 (9)Overall : Runs: 179
Innings: 11
Average per innings: 16.27 https://t.co/nOej1UqWCW— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952) October 6, 2026
With Samson struggling to fire consistently, it is just a matter of time before Sooryavanshi is given an extended run in the T20I side alongside world No2 T20I batter Abhishek SharmaFormer India opener Sunil Gavaskar feels that one cannot drop Samson on the back of one low score against West Indies in the series.
“Sanju scored two half centuries against Afghanistan as an openerThen he had a bad run of games at the Asian Games but he was batting at number three there, so I won’t really blame himNow, he’s back opening the innings and got out after scoring 11 runs in this first T20IBut that is not enough for me to drop him from the team in favour of young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” Gavaskar told JioStar after first T20I match in Lucknow.
Sooryavanshi, on the other hand, has scored 246 runs in 8 T20I matches in his career with a strike-rate of 186.38 with 2 fifties“You have to give a player a fair run, especially someone who has just come back into a role he is comfortable withOne low score does not change anythingSanju has shown what he can do at the top of the order and he deserves a longer rope.
“Vaibhav is a special talent, and his time will come, but for now, Sanju is the right man to open in this series against West IndiesYou cannot keep chopping and changing after every gameThat only creates insecurity in the dressing room,” Gavaskar said on the Samson vs Sooryavanshi debate.
It will be interesting to see who between Samson and Sooryavanshi will make the cut for the 2nd T20I match in Ranchi on Friday.
