Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Sanju Samson to end the T20 World Cup 2026 on the ultimate high against New Zealand in the summit clash on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The right-handed batter has been in phenomenal touch in the 20-team tournament, winning back-to-back Player of the Match awards. The 31-year-old hit an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies in the Super 8s match in Kolkata, and he then backed the performance up with an 89-run knock against England in the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Samson had the chance to hit a century against the Three Lions in the second semi-final; however, he prioritised the team’s needs and went hell-for-leather. In the process, he ended up losing his wicket to Will Jacks.
Ashwin believes that Samson can score his maiden T20 World Cup century on Sunday, and it will all depend on whether he’s able to see off the opening spell bowled by pacer Matt Henry.
“Earlier, I manifested that Samson would finish the World Cup with three centuries. In the first game, he scored 97; in the next, 89. Now I think one century would be enough. He did not have a great bilateral series against New Zealand. Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel, ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“If Sanju Samson finds answers to Matt Henry just like he found against Jofra Archer, I don’t think we can see anybody stopping Sanju. We are in for a grandstand finish, and I wish him to do that,” he added.
Samson did not start India’s T20 World Cup campaign, as he warmed the bench, with the management going with Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan as the openers. However, when Abhishek suffered a stomach infection, Sanju played the game against Namibia, scoring 22 runs.
Samson then went out after Abhishek recovered for the game against Pakistan. However, looking at the two left-handed batters’ struggles against the off-spinners, Samson made his way back into the playing XI as an opener. After scoring 24 runs in 15 balls against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s stage, the batter found form in the games against the West Indies and England.
Samson third-highest scorer for India
Samson has so far aggregated 232 runs in the four matches that he has played for India in the T20 World Cup 2026, becoming the third-highest scorer for the Men in Blue, only behind Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.
The ICC has also shortlisted Samson for the T20 World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament accolade, and he is in the running to win the top prize. The other nominations are England’s Will Jacks, Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and South Africa’s Aiden Markram, among others.