Sanju Samson’s tension increased. (Photo- PTI)
Sanju Samson Poor Form: Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson’s performance in the ongoing T20 series against New Zealand has once again been disappointing. Even during the third T20 International match at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, Sanju was out on the very first ball, due to which his poor form continued. In this match, New Zealand batted first and scored 153 runs. In reply, Sanju Samson was dismissed for a golden duck by fast bowler Matt Henry at the very beginning of India’s innings. Sanju tried to play a shot on a seam ball from Henry, but he missed it completely and was bowled.
Sanju Samson’s tension increased
Leave alone scoring runs in this series, Sanju Samson has not even been able to spend time at the crease. In the first T20, he scored only 10 runs in 7 balls in Nagpur. In the second match, he scored 6 runs in Raipur and now could not even open his account in the third match, which is raising questions on his form. Now Sanju has also joined the list of Indian batsmen who were out on the first ball in T20 International. The names of other players included in this unwanted record are KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw and Rohit Sharma.
Apart from this, Sanju’s name is also coming up in the list of batsmen who have been out on 0 most number of times for India in T20 International. So far he has scored 7 ducks in 47 innings, which is jointly second after Rohit Sharma (12 ducks, 151 innings). Virat Kohli also has 7 ducks, but his innings are much more. Players like Suryakumar Yadav (6 ducks) and KL Rahul (5 ducks) are also part of this list.
Alarm bells before T20 World Cup
This continuous poor performance of Sanju has become a matter of concern amidst the preparations for T20 World Cup 2026. The team management can now consider other options like Ishan Kishan in his place. This series has been very good for Ishan Kishan so far. In the third match of the series also, he scored 28 runs in just 13 balls, which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. At present, Ishan Kishan has been kept as a backup opener in the team for the T20 World Cup. But the picture may change after the remaining 2 matches of the series. These 2 matches are going to be very important for Sanju.