Sanju Samson Dropped? Ishan Kishan’s Wicketkeeping Role Fuels T20 World Cup Buzz

In what might come as a clear indication to Sanju Samson and his bunch of fans, he might not find a place in India’s playing XI when they take on the United States of America in their opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday, February 7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Samson, who is undergoing a poor patch and hasn’t been able to score runs throughout the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and after being dismissed for just six runs in the final game, Samson was snubbed from wicketkeeping duties as well.

When India came out to field, after posting a massive 271/5, centurion Ishan Kishan was seen with the wicketkeeping gloves while Samson was patrolling the boundary line, albeit with a smile on his face.

“The way Ishan Kishan is batting,

it’s almost certain that Sanju will have niggles and hamstring pulls throughout the T20WC 💀,” a user tweeted on Saturday evening.

The way Ishan Kishan is batting, it’s almost certain that Sanju will have niggles and hamstring pulls throughout the T20WC 💀 pic.twitter.com/RLDjErNSuw

— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) January 31, 2026

Openers Samson (6), whose fifth consecutive failure in this series now casts a massive shadow over his T20 World Cup prospects, couldn’t get going, falling to pacer Lockie Ferguson.

Star India batter Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16 balls) gave a solid start, but extra pace from Ferguson did him in.

But India found some fresh wind soon through Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan after a tepid power play phase, 54/2.

Ishan, who missed the fourth T20I with an unspecified injury, showed no trace of rust, putting the New Zealand bowlers through the wringer with his fast hands and nimble feet.

The left-hander began his carnage, smashing Ferguson for a boundary and six over extra over and the runs never stopped thereafter.

Ishan reached his fifty in just 28 deliveries with a four off Ish Sodhi, while Suryakumar brought up 3,000 T20I runs two balls quicker, clearing the ropes off Jacob Duffy.