Sanju Samson has shown a pattern in his dismissals. Image Credits: AFP
Sanju Samson’s omission from the Zimbabwe tour has come as a major surprise, perhaps even a harsh call. After getting just three matches on the UK tour, he was dropped for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and has now been left out of the squad altogether.
The pressure on Samson had been mounting, with Sooryavanshi's extraordinary talent making him increasingly difficult to ignore. However, the competition for places was only one part of the story.
The obvious issues around Sanju Samson’s game
Since IPL 2026, Sanju Samson has struggled against pace early in the innings almost every time. While he played a few quality knocks for CSK, the underlying issues were evident in a season when the ball swung considerably more than in previous editions.
Overall, Samson averaged a mere 22.56 and lost his wicket every 15.33 deliveries during the field restrictions this season. Moreover, he played around 42.03% false shots, even though his strike rate was a reasonable 147.10.
Also Read: Sanju Samson Not Alone! Players India Can Drop From Asian Games 2026 Squad
His biggest weakness was against deliveries moving away from him, where his technical flaws were repeatedly exposed. On all balls swinging or seaming away in the first six overs vs pace, Samson lost his wicket six times in 55 deliveries, averaging a mere 12.
Sanju Samson has struggled vs away-going deliveries
His strike rate was a tepid 130.90, while his control dropped to just 49.09%. Take his dismissal against Nandre Burger in Guwahati or Jasprit Bumrah in Chennai; the pattern was so obvious that pacers didn’t even need to try anything else most of the time.
The issues carried over to international cricket. Jai Moondra and Saqib Mahmood deliberately angled the ball away to dismiss Samson, reinforcing a weakness that had already become increasingly apparent.
The corridor lines with the new ball
Sanju Samson's struggles against deliveries moving away also explain why so many of his dismissals came in the corridor outside off stump. It became the default line for opposition pacers with the new ball, who rarely had any reason to deviate from it.
On the off-stump and just outside the off-stump line, Samson was dismissed seven times in the powerplay in IPL 2026. The plan was simple: bowl on a slightly fuller length and take the ball away to induce the outside edge.
His median dismissal length was 7.01 meters, with five of his 9 powerplay dismissals coming inside the first two overs. While he had two centuries, eight of his scores were 20 or below.
The Indian batter faced 20 or fewer balls in 71.42% of the innings, showing no signs of assurance at any stage. So when he didn’t score, Samson was simply a sitting duck, with obvious loopholes.
Sanju Samson has struggled in corridor lines
The trend continued on the UK tour, where he again tried to play with hard hands away from the body. On both ocassions, the slowness of the pitch resulted in his dismissal on deliveries in the corridor lines.
Inability to counter the extra swing
Sanju Samson was the most vulnerable opener against moderate to high swing in IPL 2026. On all pace deliveries with a swing of 1° or more in the first six overs, his average of 16 was the worst, and he played around 43.83% dot balls.
He struck at just 131.51 and lost his wicket every 12.16 deliveries. Ryan Rickelton was the next, with an average of 16.66 and a strike rate of 113.64.
For the record, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi averaged a whopping 71.50 and struck at 255.36, the highest among all openers with at least 30 such deliveries. Collectively, other openers on such deliveries averaged 32.91 and struck at 153.23, hitting boundaries on around 25.7% of balls.
Sanju Samson struggled the most against swinging deliveries
A major reason Sanju Samson struggled in this area was his faulty technique. He has lately developed a tendency to remain still on the crease and play any ball with his hands.
He simply doesn’t cover the line and ends up playing away from the body, resulting in outside edges at times, as was visible in his dismissal against Mohammed Siraj in Ahmedabad. Unsurprisingly, the drives have resulted in six powerplay dismissals since IPL 2026, including once each against Ireland and England.
This will fetch him results whenever the ball is not moving, and boundaries are not long, but not in favourable conditions and on tacky surfaces. His low scores in the IPL came at venues with more prominent new-ball movement: Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and mostly in Chennai.
In all three matches for India on the UK tour, Samson never looked at ease and repeatedly tried to hit through the line on tacky wickets. Since he doesn’t play unorthodox shots like Vaibhav, he remains highly vulnerable in most countries outside India.
The selectors may have made a harsh call by omitting him from the Zimbabwe tour, and Sanju Samson could well return for the subsequent series. But unless he addresses a technical flaw that opponents have exploited repeatedly over the last few months, his place in India'sT20I side will remain under constant threat.
Also Read: CSK's IPL Winner Questions Sanju Samson's Exclusion From Indian T20I Team
