Is the grass ever green for Sanju Samson? This can be a valid question as the India star has found himself in the sidelines again.
After playing a pivotal role in India's T20 World Cup triumph, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter has found himself watching from the sidelines, making way for 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the second T20I against England.
Samson endured a lean run with the bat in his last three outings, yet three failures have seemingly outweighed the trust built over months of performances.
Sanju Samson's T20 World Cup Heroics
Sanju Samson, by no means, have got things easily. The Kerala player has been in a battle since his debut, often jeopardized by himself. Leading up to the T20 World Cup, Sanju's poor run of form was vocally criticized, and he lost his place
as well.
Opportunities were not meant to be, but an injury and lack of runs from others opened up a place - and the rest is history. Samson shone as India's hero in the T20 World Cup 2026, emerging from inconsistent selections to become Player of the Tournament. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 321 runs in just 5 innings at an average of 80.25 and strike rate of 199.38, powering India to a third title.
After early cameos (22 off 8 vs Namibia; 24 off 15 vs Zimbabwe), he exploded in knockouts. He smashed 97 off 50* (12 fours, 4 sixes) vs West Indies in a record chase of 196, qualifying for the semis.
In the semi-final vs England, he blasted 89 off 42 (SR 211.9). In the final vs New Zealand, another 89 off 46 sealed a big win. The man from Trivandrum lived an age in those few weeks, where the cricketing god poured every iota of positivity, and he oblized with humble hands.
The Recent Curve
After a stellar T20 World Cup, Samson made his much anticipated move to Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. CSK had a dismal season but Sanju had fantastic outings, as he amassed 477 runs for them with 2 centuries.
The form has dipped though in the last three matches. In the Ireland series, he scored just 5 runs in two matches, followed by just 1 in the last match against England.
Sanju Samson: Saviour to Scapegoat
In a sport where confidence is often a batter's greatest ally, India's decision appears brutally unforgiving. While Sooryavanshi's historic debut deserves every bit of celebration, the manner in which Samson has been discarded raises an uncomfortable question - is it always easy to discard certain names?
Samson's story always finds a common tune, where he is always kept on the edge. His performances transformed him from a player constantly fighting for his place into one of India's most trusted white-ball match-winners, making his subsequent exclusion after just a handful of failures all the more surprising.
"Sanju Samson, player of the tournament in the World Cup, he is under pressure. Now three innings on the bounce means the calls are coming nice and loud for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but I would still say back him," Dinesh Karthik said a day back.
Humans do have short memories. But in recent months, India's collective failure has often been overlooked, rather things have been pinned on a singular person. And it was the same after the Ireland series, where India had a shocking series defeat. Sanju, who was the saviour for India months ago and helped them to win the T20 WORLD CUP, was suddenly at the heart of the wrath. It was quite correctly pointed out by former India player Saba Karim recently.
"Sanju Samson is a fabulous player. He has been a match-winner. He had a very good IPL season. Before that, he was the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup. What are we looking at? Sanju Samson would be thinking, 'Why is everyone pointing the gun at me?'" Karim said.
But Indian team management has deemed it necessary to discard Samson, as he will have to wait again to find inroads in the side in coming matches. Sanju may not like it, but this pattern is a known one for him. He has always fought adversities and has roared back, and Kerala's 'Mone' won't mind riding another tide.
But sometimes, things need to stop. This country lives on scapegoats rather than collective responsibility. And Indian cricket has been accused of that many times. India head coach Gautam Gambhir used to speak about his omission as vice-captain after a dismal tour during the MS Dhoni era. He is part of the system now, and we have already witnessed the baton of vice-captaincy being passed around in a musical chair. And for Sanju Samson, it's simply not fair.
