In the third Twenty20 International of the five-match series against New Zealand, Sanju Samson was removed for a golden duck on Sunday, January 25 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. The keeper-batter gave Matt Henry the first ball after the Men in Blue were supposed to chase 154. The ball crashed into the stumps despite the right-handed batter’s attempt to flick a delivery.
Fortunately, Team India was unaffected by Samson’s early ejection. Abhishek Sharma (68* off 20) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (57* off 26) both hit scorching half-centuries, while Ishan Kishan supplied a swift 28 off 13. The Men in Blue required just 10 overs to surpass New Zealand’s score as Abhishek reached 50 off 14 balls, the second-fastest half-century by an Indian.
As a result, Team India won the five-match series 3-0 and will enter the 2026 T20 World Cup riding high. Regarding the ICC tournament, Kishan was selected by India to be Samson’s backup goalkeeper. Nonetheless, we examine three arguments in favor of Kishan over Samson in India’s starting lineup for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
1. Sanju Samson is terribly out of touch and lacking pricornefidence
When Samson was included in the 15-member squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup, it seemed almost a no-brainer that he would be opening with Abhishek in the ICC event. But that’s no longer a sure thing. The Kerala stumper has been woefully out of form in the first three T20Is against New Zealand with scores of 10, 6 and 0.
His dismissals haven’t been disappointing just because of the lack of big scores, but also on account of how easily he has surrendered with soft dismissals. In the opening T20I in Nagpur, Samson flicked one from Kyle Jamieson straight to midwicket. In Raipur, he had played another nothing shot and holed out to mid-on off Henry. On Sunday, he succumbed to a similar bowler as he shuffled across and was found wanting.
Here, it is relevant to mention that Sanju Samson hasn’t always found the going tough against N/Z/W. For his part, he has played 14 innings since the beginning of 2025 and scored 238 runs at an average of 17 and a strike rate of 126.59, with only one score over fifty. Samson has never been the poster boy for consistency and, on that evidence, India might be taking a massive punt by investing heavily in him at the top come the 2026 T20 World Cup.
2. At the right time, Ishan has made the most of his chances
Timing in cricket is so very important. Till a few weeks ago, Kishan wasn’t even in consideration for the T20 World Cup squad. But a boisterous performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy could not be ignored by the selectors. The southpaw was preferred over Shubman Gill because India wanted a back-up keeper-batter at the top in case Samson falls by the wayside.
Whatever you want to call it, Kishan’s hot form has coincided with Samson’s freezing form. The southpaw Jharkhand batsman perished cheaply in the first T20I against New Zealand but played a brisk innings in Raipur to earn man of the match honours. He had done a decent rescue act in Guwahati meanwhile Samson’s struggle kept continuing.
If Kishan ends up replacing him in the T20 World Cup playing XI, Samson might count himself a bit unlucky. The way the Kerala stumper was shuffled up and down by the team management did not do any favors to his cause. Although it might be harsh to say the 31-year-old has missed out on his opportunities, there have been less chances and Kishan has grabbed them more often than not.
3. No slot for Sanju looks in the middle-order if Tilak Varma plays.
Samson and Kishan could both play if Tilak Varma misses out on the T20 World Cup (he should not, though). But if Varma is in the XI, then the Men in Blue will have no choice but to field their strongest top three, and based on how they’ve played, it should be Abhishek, Kishan and Varma.
In the Asia Cup, he did bat in the middle order when Gill and Abhishek opened. There is, however, no space for him in the middle order currently which has Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel and Rinku Singh manning crucial positions. Meaning, if Varma is in the playing XI for India during the T20 World Cup, it should be Samson and not Kishan who misses out. A tough call, but what the team needed.
