When Sanju Samson retires, he may get the title of ‘legendary’ but in the current setup he seems to be lacking the trust of team management or captain or selectors of the coach. After captain Suryakumar Yadav, Samson has become the latest to be dropped from the T20I squad. Some reports suggest that he has been rested but he isn’t playing in the T20I series against England despite comprehensive defeat. Samson has not got the long rope after his ‘Player of the series’ performances in T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain. The proven performer not finding a place in the squad for Zimbabwe tour has left his coach Biju George heartbroken.
George is trying to make sense of it but he has come to the conclusion that the current series of events are beyond his comprehension. He wonders why it is Samson who gets the axe while the entire team lost the T20I series in Ireland and has already faced three defeats on England tour.
"I agree he failed in three matches. But he was not the only one who failed. Right? I feel really sad. I'm totally broken because I thought that, at least for the next year, give him five or six matches, three tours, three continuous tours. Give him a slot. Sad," George told TOI.
"With this talent, there is no question about his calibre. There is no question that he was your match-winner. He won you the World Cup. Now, how can you do this to him? It is like certain things you can never understand — why they happen. Right? Very sad. So you defend it.”
Sooryavanshi or Samson in playing XI for 5th T20I?
Samson did not do himself a favour with string of low scores. He scored just six runs from three innings. His replacement, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s much-anticipated debut has not been fruitful. He is yet to cross
the 20-run mark. From three innings, he has registered scores of 14, 13 and 15.
After the defeat in the third T20I, head coach Gautam Gambhir had said that he has given clarity to Samson but he wouldn’t disclose the conversation he had with him. Gambhir expressed that every player in the team has to deliver performances to earn a place in the side instead of retaining the spot on the back of previous records. While he focused on a result-oriented approach, the results have come out negative on the England soil as India look to register at least one win on the tour.
It is yet to be seen whether Sooryavanshi retains his spot in the playing eleven for the fifth and final T20I of the series or Samson makes a comeback.
Samson’s last 50-plus score 7 innings ago
Before the UK tour, Samson had registered scores of 0, 27, 20 and 28 in Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) last four Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 group stage matches. Before that, he scored a match-winning 87 against Delhi Capitals (DC) in the run chase. Overall, he had a decent run in the IPL considering CSK's struggles in the season. From 14 innings, he scored 477 runs, featuring two tons and a fifty. He averaged 43.36 and scored at a strike rate of 165.62.