There is a big debate surrounding Sanju Samson’s place in the India T20I squad and this time, the criticism is loud and serious after his poor New Zealand series at home. Former India pacer Sudeep Tyagi has openly questioned why Sanju Samson was still given a chance despite a prolonged period of poor form.

Sanju Samson’s shocking statistics sound alarm bells ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup

Samson has struggled with consistency in T20I cricket since January 2025, despite getting chances at length as an opener. After a fantastic year in 2024, in which he smashed three T20I hundreds and looked unstoppable, his form completely declined in 2025 and 2026.

In 2015, Samson scored just 238 runs at an average of 17.00 and a strike rate of 126.59 with just one century. The worst phase for the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman was during the T20I series against New Zealand in January 2026, when he scored just 46 runs in five games at an average of just 9.20.

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The Kerala star has averaged just 12.8 in his last 10 T20I innings as an opener since January 2025. In the top nine innings, he crossed just two powerplay overs, raising serious concerns as the Indian cricket team prepares to defend its T20 World Cup title at home and in Sri Lanka.

Ishan Kishan’s comeback puts Samson under pressure

This poor form has left Samson’s place in the 2026 World Cup T20 squad in jeopardy, especially with return batsman Ishan Kishan performing exceptionally well.

Kishan made a strong comeback and scored 215 runs at an average of over 54 and an impressive strike rate of 231.18.

The Bihar lad also scored a century against New Zealand. Given Ishan’s impressive form, Tyagi believes the in-form goalkeeper deserves a place in the squad for the big tournament. The former India pacer admitted that Samson was a talented batsman but the runs were not coming.

Sudeep Tyagi slams Sanju Samson for poor form

Tyagi pointed out that the right-handed batsman has been given enough opportunities but failed to perform as he should have, so it is time for the team management to replace Sanju.

Speaking exclusively to CricketAddictor, Sudeep Tyagi said, “I think Sanju Samson is a great player. He is a talented player but you have to convert talent into performance. That is very important. And he has played so many games.”

But he didn’t perform. For whatever reason, sometimes players don’t perform well. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. He’s a very good player. But he hasn’t reached that level yet. “

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Without runs, talent means nothing: Tyagi teases Sanju Samson, backs Ishan Kishan

Furthermore, the former India pacer brutally attacked Samson, saying talent means nothing without performance. Even Tyagi claimed that Ishan should now have a place in the Indian XI instead of Sanju as he has performed well in the national team.

Tyagi added, “The other thing is, when Ishan came back, he made a great comeback. So, you can’t ignore him as well. So, it’s a good, healthy competition. But I think Ishan Kishan should be playing at this time because he is performing well.

I believe that no matter how talented you are, if you don’t show it, that talent means nothing. They should let Ishan Kishan reach the top. “