India warned not to drop Sanju Samson despite Ishan Kishan's red-hot form in NZ T20Is

India told not to drop Sanju Samson despite poor form [Source: AFP]

India’s wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has not been in his best form since earning his T20I recall for the New Zealand series. Across the first two matches, Samson has managed only 16 runs, having been dismissed early on both occasions.

However, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has urged the team management and the BCCI not to drop Sanju Samson as their first-choice opener just yet.

How was Sanju Samson’s return to T20I setup for India?

Sanju Samson’s return to the T20I setup came after a three-month gap, as Shubman Gill was benched for both the New Zealand T20I squad and the T20 World Cup 2026 squad.

Samson secured his opening slot alongside Abhishek Sharma in the South Africa T20I series as well, where he featured in the fifth and final match and scored 37 runs off 22 deliveries.

He later participated in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he registered solid scores, including a century, and averaged 56 across the two matches he played in January.

Based on those performances, Samson was selected by the Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for the New Zealand series. However, following his recent below-par outings, the management could consider pushing Ishan Kishan to the top of the order and dropping Samson.

Ashwin strongly backs Sanju Samson to open in NZ series

Despite this, Ashwin has expressed full faith in Samson, stating that it would not be ideal for the dressing room atmosphere to demote him from the playing XI. Ashwin believes it is too early to think about dropping Samson and labelled any such rash decision as a “circus act.”

“It’s way too early to think of dropping him. If India keeps doing such circus acts by playing Sanju when he did well before, and now Kishan because he’s playing well now, I don’t have to tell how it’ll end for India.

"It’s not ideal inside the dressing room. There is a lot of competition for places, but it’s too early for this change,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin also stressed the importance of giving the Kerala batter a longer run, stating that it would be unfair to judge him based on a short selection window of just two matches. He added that penalising a player so quickly would not be healthy for the team environment.

“It’ll be very unfair. This opening combination has been reverted only for the last two games. A player has got out playing an attacking shot. If you penalize him for that and bench him, how will you witness the best of that player?

It wasn’t that there was a rush of blood or that he wasn’t calm. He just saw the ball and went for it ( 2nd T20I dismissal). That’s how you should instinctively bat, but it just didn’t go his way,” Ashwin added.

Samson in real risk of getting dropped by the management?

However, contrary to Ashwin’s view, former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra suggested that the third T20I at Guwahati on Sunday could be a decisive game for Samson’s career.

“This could be the most important match of Sanju Samson’s life. I say that because this is the third match, Tilak Varma might be available after this match, and you might see him playing the match on the 28th. Then only one of Ishan Kishan and Sanju will play,” Chopra said.

Sanju Samson’s record on Guwahati pitches has also been underwhelming. From five IPL matches played at the venue for Rajasthan Royals, Samson has scored only 93 runs off 71 deliveries and has been dismissed in all five innings.

He averages just 18.6 at a strike rate of 131 in Guwahati, which further puts his place under threat and increases the risk of being dropped by the team management.