As expected, Samson opened the batting with Ishan Kishan. The former faced three consecutive dot balls in the first over before launching the fourth for a huge six straight into the ground. In the next over, Samson hit back-to-back sixes, square on the leg side. The next ball went for a boundary over extra cover.
Samson had raced to 22 with seven balls and had a sublime ball touch. However, he hit the last ball of the second straight to Louren Steenkamp deep at mid-wicket.
Former India A captain Priyank Panchal expressed his disappointment with Samson and said it was important for the 31-year-old to put up a big score instead of playing a cameo as this would have helped him avoid criticism later.
“I know Sanju is someone who is exemplary in producing short cameos, but against opponents like Namibia, it is important that you get your run count up. This will help players protect themselves from unwarranted criticism later,” Panchal said on his official ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) handle.
7:17 PM · February 12, 2026
Samson opened in all five matches for India during the five T20Is they played against New Zealand just before the big event. However, he had a miserable outing with the bat, amassing just 46 runs in five innings at a paltry average of 9.20. This abysmal performance cost him his place in the playing XI when India opened with Abhishek and Ishan Kishan in their first T20 World Cup match against the USA.
Despite Samson’s eye-catching cameo against Namibia, he should retire from playing once Abhishek recovers from his illness.
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