Sanju Samson destroyed by ex-teammate of Gautam Gambhir: “This is twice in about 12 months…”

Sanju Samson’s poor form continued and he did not have the best homecoming in the fifth and final T20I match against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram. Samson could only manage a thick outside edge to the deep third fielder when he attempted to hit a six over the line, scoring just six runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman has struggled in the five T20I matches in 2026.

Sanju Samson scored only 46 runs in 5 innings. He continued to show his weak batting approach. This was one of the poorest forms of the batsman who surpassed his own unwanted record for India exactly twelve months ago, when the repeated short-ball plan proved to be his unsuccessful record against England in five matches, where he scored just 51 runs.

‘I think this is twice now in about twelve months’ – Aakash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra slammed Sanju Samson’s poor batting performance just before the 2026 T20 World Cup. He also threw light on the same kind of dismissal pattern for the batsman, which is very unusual at the international level.

Chopra, in a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, said: “I think this is twice in about 12 months now. It all started with that England series. Very rarely do you see a top-class batsman develop a pattern, especially in the shortest format of the game. He was dismissed the same way five times – a short ball caught in the deep. Here too, if you see his dismissals versus pace, there is an uncanny pattern to it.”

“You go deep into the crease before the ball is even bowled. You try to play the ball, but the front foot doesn’t go anywhere. The result is that your bat actually closes every time you play. He was lucky once in Thiruvananthapuram with an outside edge. Also in the previous game he closed the bat a little too early, so another pattern has emerged.”

Sanju Samson loses his place

Sanju Samson is in a very difficult position. Because the keeper-batsman might lose his place again from the Indian team after his poor performance. Ishan Kishan, who carried his stellar domestic form into international cricket, scored 215 runs in the series against New Zealand. The latter was the second highest run-scorer in the series after captain Suryakumar Yadav.

Kishan, who is also a wicketkeeper and can also open the innings, was seen doing the glove work in the final T20I match on Saturday. This clearly indicated that India could go with the left-hander over Sanju Samson. With less than a week to go before the T20 World Cup kicks off, this could be an alarm bell for Samson.

Also read: Sanju Samson dropped from India’s playing XI for 2026 T20 World Cup, announced by BCCI selector

India go top with three left-handers

As things stand, Ishan Kishan is the favorite to open alongside Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, who is expected to be fit and join the squad ahead of the big event, possibly batting at No. 3 for India. So all three of them will be left-handed in the top 3 of the Men in Blue.

We have to wait for the combination that India will play against USA in the first match.