‘Given enough chances’: Sudeep Tyagi demands immediate sacking of Sanju Samson from India XI

A big debate has started over Sanju Samson’s place in the Indian T20I team, and this time the criticism is loud and serious after his terrible series in New Zealand at home. Former India pacer Sudeep Tyagi has openly questioned why Sanju Samson continues to get opportunities despite a long spell of poor form.

Sanju Samson’s shocking figures raise alarm ahead of the 2026 World Cup

Samson has struggled poorly with consistency in T20I cricket since January 2025 despite being given a long run as an opener. After a dream year in 2024, where he smashed three T20I hundreds and looked unstoppable, his form has completely dipped in 2025 and 2026.

In 2015, Samson scored just 238 runs at an average of 17.00 and a strike rate of 126.59 with just one century. The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman’s worst phase came during the recent T20I series against New Zealand in January 2026, where he scored just 46 runs in five matches, at an average of just 9.20.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar to drop Sanju Samson from India XI for T20 World Cup 2026

Since January 2025, the Kerala star has averaged just 12.8 in his last ten T20I innings as an opener. Out of nine innings at the top, he crossed the powerplay just twice, raising serious concerns as the Indian cricket team prepares to defend the T20 World Cup title at home and in Sri Lanka.

Ishan Kishan’s comeback puts pressure on Samson

This poor form has put Samson’s place in the 2026 T20 World Cup squad in jeopardy, especially with comeback batsman Ishan Kishan performing exceptionally well.

Kishan has made a strong comeback and scored 215 runs with an impressive average of over 54 and a blistering strike rate of 231.18.

The boy from Bihar also struck a century against New Zealand. Considering Ishan’s stunning form, Tyagi feels the in-form wicketkeeper deserves a place in the Playing XI at the mega event. The former Indian pacer admitted that Samson is a talented batsman but runs are not coming.

Sudeep Tyagi slams Sanju Samson’s poor form

Tyagi pointed out that the right-handed batsman has been given enough chances and failed to score, making it high time for the team management to bench Sanju.

Sudeep Tyagi in an exclusive interview with CricketAddictor said, “I think Sanju Samson is a good player. He is a talented player but you have to convert talent into performance. That is very important. And he has got so many games.”

But he doesn’t perform. Whatever the reasons, sometimes players don’t perform. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. He’s a very good player. But his form is not there yet.”

Also read: Virat Kohli directly addressed MS Dhoni’s question about famous Indian broadcaster not leaving Ranchi

Talent means nothing without runs: Tyagi mocks Sanju Samson and supports Ishan Kishan

Moreover, the former Indian pacer brutally fooled Samson by saying that talent means nothing without performance. Even Tyagi has claimed that Ishan deserves the spot in India XI at this point, and not Sanju, after his stellar comeback in national colours.

Tyagi added, “And another thing is that when Ishan made a comeback, he made a great comeback. So you can’t ignore him either. So it’s a good, healthy competition. But I think Ishan Kishan should play at the moment because he is performing well.”

And I believe that no matter how talented you are, if you don’t perform, that talent is nothing. They have to take Ishan Kishan to the top.”