By the looks of it, Samson is now being groomed as a middle-order batter for the 2026 T20 World Cup
Former India captain and opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth has once again taken a dig at current head coach Gautam Gambhir, this time for frequently changing Sanju Samson’s batting position in T20Is.
Srikkanth, who had earlier criticised Gambhir for preferring pacer Harshit Rana across all formats, questioned the logic behind the constant shuffling of Samson’s role despite his strong performances at the top.
Samson, who struck three centuries as an opener in 2024 and built a formidable partnership with Abhishek Sharma, was pushed down the order once Shubman Gill returned to the T20I setup for the 2025 Asia Cup after nearly a year.
While Gill managed just 127 runs in seven innings at an average of 21.16, Samson scored 132 runs at 33, playing a couple of crucial cameos in the middle order.
Even in the first T20I against Australia on October 29, which was washed out due to rain, Gill opened alongside Abhishek once again – a move that didn’t sit well with Srikkanth. “The guy who’s most unlucky is Sanju Samson,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, as reported by The Indian Express.
“He was scoring centuries as an opener. But now they send him everywhere – from No. 3 to No. 8. If given an opportunity, they may send him at No. 11 also! A person like Sanju will naturally feel bad after doing so well at the top, but he has no option but to be tight-lipped and bat wherever the team asks him to.”
Srikkanth, however, found a silver lining in Samson’s adaptability. “The only good thing is he did well at No. 5 in the Asia Cup. It’s a good sign because Sanju is now the automatic choice as the first wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup.”
By the looks of it, Samson is now being groomed as a middle-order batter for the 2026 T20 World Cup, while Gill is likely to continue opening despite Samson’s stellar record at the top.
