Sanju Samson made his T20 World Cup debut for Team India on Thursday (February 12) in Delhi against Namibia and played a knock of 22 runs from just 8 balls. During his stay at the crease, he batted with
a strike rate of 275.00 and slammed three sixes and one four for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side.
Samson opened his account by hitting Ruben Trumpelmann for six on the last ball of the first over of India’s innings and then slammed 6, 6 and 4 on the third, fourth and fifth balls of the 2nd over bowled by Ben Shikongo.
What a way to get off the mark! 😍
A proper cricketing shot from @IamSanjuSamson to hit the first maximum of the night 💪
ICC Men’s #T20WorldCup | #INDvNAM | LIVE NOW 👉 https://t.co/aLGrwgVX5o pic.twitter.com/6etJDXkwTo
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 12, 2026
However, on the last ball of the second over, in an attempt to hit a big six, he was caught by Louren Steenkamp.
The ongoing match between India and Namibia in Delhi is Samson’s first match for India in the T20 World Cup. He was a member of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup title in 2024, but in that edition he didn’t get a chance to play even one match for the Indian team.
Samson was included in India’s playing XI for the match against Namibia at Arun Jaitley Stadium in place of Abhishek Sharma. World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek is “still not fine”, which is why he was not available for selection against the Namibian team in India’s second Group A match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
By making his T20 World Cup debut for India at the age of 31 years and 93 days, Samson became the second oldest player to make the T20 World Cup for the Men in Blue. He is only behind former spinner Amit Mishra.
Oldest to make T20 World Cup debut for India
| PLAYER | AGE | AGAINST | VENUE | YEAR |
| Amit Mishra | 31 years, 117 days | Pakistan | Mirpur | 2014 |
| Sanju Samson | 31 years, 93 days | Namibia | Delhi | 2026 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 31 years, 40 days | Pakistan | Dubai | 2021 |
| Ashish Nehra | 31 years, 2 days | Afghanistan | St Lucia | 2010 |
| Lakshmipathy Balaji | 30 years, 358 days | Afghanistan | Colombo (RPS) | 2012 |
Amit Mishra was 31 years and 117 days old when he played his first T20 World Cup match for India in 2014 against Pakistan at Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.
