Sanju Samson Placed On Same Pedestal As Rohit Sharma

Pakistan cricketers call Sanju Samson the next Rohit Sharma (PC-x.com)

In a virtual knockout game, India needed a special knock, and Sanju Samson delivered that for the defending champions against the West Indies in Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Sunday. The Men in Blue chased down their highest total in the history of the T20 World Cups, with Samson single-handedly taking India home with his 97 not out.

Sanju Samson's majestic knock of 97* runs even earned the applause from the neighbouring country, Pakistan. On a popular sports show, Haarna Mana Hai, Mohammad Amir went on to celebrate the Indian wicketkeeper's innings, comparing Samson with Rohit Sharma.

Pakistan greats applaud Sanju Samson

While hailing India's Sanju Samson, the Pakistan internationals - Mohammad Amir, Ahmed Shehzad and Rashid Latif - sang praises for the Indian wicketkeeper. The trio praised his game awareness and the ability to play the ball late, for which Mohammad Amir compared him to Rohit Sharma.

Shahzad, who was the first Pakistani batter to smash a century in the T20 World Cup, mentioned Samson's two T20I centuries in South Africa. He further talked about the competition in the Indian cricketing setup.

"He (Sanju Samson) plays the ball very late. He has also went through a lot of hardships in his career. He got a place in this T20 World Cup because some of the Indian batters got out of form. He has a lot of time to play the ball. He went to South Africa and hit two centuries there. If a Pakistan batter would do that, you won't lose his place for next five years. Sanju was dropped in just three months, that's the level of competition India have," Ahmed Shehzad stated on Haarna Mana Hai.

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SheR•ALI

@Sher__Ali

🚨🚨Sanju Samson is the next Rohit Sharma for India ! Ahmad Shehzad 🗣️❗ -Sanju Samson scored two centuries in SA & was dropped 3 months later, but now imagine if someone scores two centuries in Pakistan, he won't be dropped for the next 5 years...

Mar 2, 2026, 4:21 AM

India to face England in Semifinal 2

In a runfest at Kolkata, India went onto achieve the third-highest total in a successful chase in T20 World Cup history, with Sanju Samson (97* off 50 balls) playing the best knock of his career. Interestingly, it was just Sanju Samson's third outing in an ICC event, and he smashed his maiden T20 World Cup half-century in it.

Although Samson's majestic 97* took the side home, the Indian bowlers had a bad day at the office. Barring Jasprit Bumrah (2/36) and Axar Patel (0/32), the rest of the bowlers gave away runs at an economy rate of 10 RPO or more, which let the West Indies post 195/4.

The Men in Blue will look to bring their A-game against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. It is worth noting that India has the upper hand, leading England 17-12 in T20Is, while the hosts hold a slim 3-2 lead in T20 World Cups.

Meanwhile, the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026 will be between New Zealand and South Africa at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.