Has Sanju Samson struggled in T20Is after World Cup heroics?
What's the story
Despite enjoying a sensational 2026 ICC T20 World Cup with the bat, Sanju Samson's place in India's T20I XI never looks certain. The right-handed batsman has been far from consistent since India's triumphant World Cup campaign. Though he has played some impressive knocks in this period, Samson's run has also been marred by several single-digit scores. On this note, let's have a look at Samson's T20I run post the 2026 T20 WC.
Performance
Three 80-plus scores in World Cup
Despite being benched for India's first few games of the T20 WC, Samson made a strong comeback and recorded three successive 80-plus scores that helped India lift the title.
The opener made an unbeaten 97 in the virtual semi-final against West Indies.
He then made 89 in semi-final against England, and another 89 in final against New Zealand.
Samson overall finished with 321 runs across five innings to claim the Player-of-the-Tournament award (SR: 199.37).
Struggles
Struggles after the tournament
Just when Samson seemed to have unleashed his best, the batter's form dipped big time.
Across 13 T20Is after the WC, Samson has scored just 264 runs at a paltry average of 20.3 (SR: 158.08).
Though the wicketkeeper-batter has recorded three fifties in these games, nine outings have seen him get dismissed under 12, as per Cricinfo.
Rise
The rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Samson's dip has intersected with the rise of India's 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
A stellar 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season earned the latter a maiden Team India call-up.
His first eight outings have resulted in 246 runs at an average of 30.75 and a strike rate of 186.36.
Abhishek Sharma, India's other first-choice T20I opener, has made 598 runs at 31.47 (SR: 210.56) since the T20 WC.
Dropped
Samson was dropped from Zimbabwe series
Following a terrible show against England and Ireland, Samson was dropped from India's T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tour.
Sooryavanshi hammered two half-centuries against Zimbabwe and was named the Player of the Series.
He still warmed the benches in India's next T20I series, which was against Afghanistan, as Samson returned to the top.
However, with Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings, Samson can't afford to endure a lean run with sporadic impressive knocks.
Accountability
I take full responsibility for my performance: Samson
Reflecting on his recent decline, Samson said, "You cannot say I have had three bad innings; let us take some time, let us build my innings, and then we will see."
The cricketer added that he takes full responsibility for his performance and doesn't blame anyone else for not scoring runs.
He said, "That is my job and I try to do it every time I step out onto the ground."