Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson is once again in the news for his place in Team India. His name is not included in the Indian T20 team announced for the Zimbabwe tour, while almost all the leading batsmen playing in the ongoing T20 series against England have got a chance in the team. In such a situation, there is only one question in the minds of cricket fans that why Sanju Samson, who has been playing T20 International cricket for 11 years, has not been able to cement his place in the team yet?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not yet explained why Sanju Samson was left out of the team. Wicketkeeper-batsman Prabhsimran Singh has got a chance in his place, who had performed brilliantly in IPL 2026. After this decision of the selectors, the debate has started once again as to what will be the future of Sanju Samson in Team India.
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Continuous poor performance increased the difficulties
Sanju Samson has not been able to perform as per expectations in the recent T20 matches. His bat remained quiet in the two matches against Ireland and the first T20 against England. After three consecutive unsuccessful innings, the team management replaced him with 15-year-old young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the second T20. Vaibhav further strengthened the confidence of the selectors by making a fast start in his debut match. In such a situation, there are clear indications that the team management now wants to give a longer opportunity to the young players keeping the future in mind.
Sanju Samson made his debut in T20 International cricket for India in the year 2015. Since then he has played 65 T20 International matches. He got a chance to bat in 57 innings of these matches, in which he returned unbeaten 5 times. Sanju has so far scored 1405 runs at an average of 27.02. During this period he has scored 6 half-centuries and 3 centuries. Apart from this, he also played innings of more than 30 runs on 5 occasions. However, on the other hand, he has been out 8 times without opening the account i.e. on a duck.
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Why is Sanju not able to confirm his place?
Sanju Samson made his T20 debut in 2015 but was dropped from the team after playing the first match. After this, he had to wait for about five years and he returned to the Indian team on 10 January 2020. Sanju scored his last century in T20 International on 15 November 2024 against South Africa. After this, he performed brilliantly in the T20 World Cup 2026. Scored three consecutive half-centuries in the last three matches of the tournament and due to his strong play, also became the ‘Player of the Tournament’.
Even in IPL 2026, his bat played well and he scored two centuries. However, there is always a problem with Sanju. When he plays a big innings, he gets out early in the next few innings. This causes a shock to the team in the beginning itself. The competition in Indian cricket is very tough at present. After every IPL season, many young players perform brilliantly and stake their claim for a place in Team India. In such a situation, if a player’s form deteriorates even a little, he does not get many opportunities and is soon shown the way out of the team.
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