Sanju Samson made his case strong for T20 World Cup 2026 for wicket-keeper batter role as he smashes back-to-back hundred in T20Is?
In a matter of two T20I innings, Sanju Samson has rewritten his T20I career. After cracking his maiden T20I ton (111 vs Bangladesh at Hyderabad), he became the first India player to score two straight tons in this format when he smashed 107 against South Africa at Durban.
Similar to his knock at Hyderabad, Samson toyed with the South African bowling line-up at Durban. He repeatedly stepped out to spinners and played inside-out over cover region for boundaries during the powerplay. He unleashed his pulls for maximums against both pacers and spinners to anything pitched slightly short. The best shot of his knock was the inside-out drive for a maximum over cover while Samson held the follow through against a pitched-up delivery from pacer Andile Simelane. It was simply ruthless batting from Samson.
Early struggles in opener’s role
However, two innings before, Samson was under pressure as he had not scored much to be given the opener’s slot in T20Is. Post the 2024 World T20, Samson was handed the big gloves and a role in India’s top-order in the format. He began with a golden duck against Sri Lanka as an opener in the second T20I at Pallekele. He fell to a four-ball duck in the third T20I at Pallekele when he came down to bat at No 3. However, the management continued with him as an opener in the next series against Bangladesh. After scores of 29, and 10 in the first two T20Is, Samson was batting for his place in the squad in the third T20I.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Samson threw caution to the wind in the third T20I and went on an attacking spree to smash a 47-ball 111 and give himself another lifeline. With his confidence back, Samson showed that the first ton was not a flash in the pan, as he batted with same intent and aggression to crack his second straight ton at Durban.
Over the years, Samson’s talent was non-questionable, but could he put the talent to use by scoring runs at the international level? These twin tons would settle this debate for some time as Samson has made the opener’s slot in T20I his own. With this second ton, Samson has raised the expectations from an opener in T20Is, and it won’t be easy to dislodge him from the position. He has silenced his critics, but Samson has to continue performing to keep competition and detractors at bay.
Has Samson made his case for T20 WC 2026?
Currently, there are a host of keeper-batters who are vying for a place in T20Is. Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel, and Jitesh Sharma are in the fray competing for this spot in the T20I XI. Pant is the front-runner to give Samson a real fight for the position. But as long as Samson continues firing like this, Pant would be considered to play in other formats, especially Tests, where he is holding the middle-order together.
Coming to Sanju Samson, he has already made his case for selection in the 2026 World T20. But the tournament is still far away, and many T20Is are scheduled for the management to experiment with other options. If Samson continues performing, he will be the first-choice keeper-batter for the 2026 World T20.
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