Sanju Samson is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. He failed to score in 2026 and struggled during the 2025 season. First, he was put in an unusual batting position to accommodate Shubman Gill in the side. He has since quit the team. But ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, he was relegated to the sidelines and opened the innings too.

In the just-concluded home series against New Zealand, the wicket-keeper batsman scored 46 runs in five innings against New Zealand, lowering his average to 9.20. He has faced criticism from several former cricketers and experts, with the latest addition to the list being former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan.

“We have to blame them for Samson’s poor form” – Irrfan Pathan

Irfan Pathan made a big statement after Sanju Samson’s dismal performance in the T20I series against New Zealand. He felt that the Indian selectors were also responsible for the poor performance of Sanju Samson, who was in fine form and Gill was dropped.

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Irfan Pathan in a recent video upload on his YouTube channel said, “As for Sanju Samson “

“Problems arise if you put a player in a position where another player is scoring runs and then the position changes. That’s what happened with Samson. It can happen to players who play domestic cricket. When you perform well and another player takes your place, you either get frustrated or lose confidence or lose confidence. You haven’t done anything wrong but your position is always in question.”

Also read: Sanju Samson destroyed by Gautam Gambhir’s former team-mate: ‘That’s two times in about 12 months…’

Irfan Pathan names reasons for Sanju Samson’s poor form

Irrfan also pointed out that no team would want to have a poor performance in their opener and not score before a big event. He also said that Samson’s batting posture posed a problem for him to score in the off-side position as he was bowled out on the leg side.

Irrfan further added, “Samson did not do anything wrong during regular runs. Now he is out of form. Samson looks out of shape mentally and is technically deficient as well. No team will want their starting XI to be struggling against runs and struggling for two things. The onus lies with the selectors.”

“The selectors deserve credit for Ishan Kishan, they should give Samson a bad name. If you look at his stance, he is playing with a closed bat face. If the bat face is a little closed, that’s okay, but it is too closed. When he plays, even at the bat point, the bat face is closed.”

“That’s why Samson got bowled and struggled to bowl in the off-side position. The offside was tight and the bat face was closed, which he had to work on. He got out in the fifth T20I because the bat face was closed on the leg side. He had been bowled before in the series and the bat face wasn’t that closed before.”

“It’s very difficult for Sanju Samson and he’s very unlucky” – Irfan Pathan

Pathan also feels that Sanju Samson will lose his place in the T20 World Cup starting XI as Ishan Kishan performed brilliantly in the series against the Black Caps, scoring 215 runs.

He concluded by adding, “The situation now is that when Tilak Varma returns, he will bat at No. 3. Ishan Kishan will bat at the top and everyone has to agree because of the form he has shown. This will be a good match for Sanju Samson It’s been very tough for Samson and he’s been unlucky as well. It’s been a very good series for India and if one player doesn’t perform well, they have a ready backup, so it’s a strong bench.”