Former cricketer Kris Srikkanth is worried for Sanju Samson and said that in his opinion Samson is “unlucky” as his batting position keeps changing with each series. As a matter of fact, Samson has been moved around the batting order although he has been a successful opener, and now he is in the middle order, whereas Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma are opening the innings. Samson batted at the fifth position thrice and at the third position once during the Asia Cup 2025, whereas in the game against Bangladesh, he was the number eight batsman.
Srikkanth questions management’s approach to Sanju Samson’s batting role
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth joked that with the way things are going, the team management “may send him at No. 11 next.” He said, “The guy who's most unlucky is Sanju Samson. He was scoring centuries as an opener. But now they send him everywhere from 3 to 8. If given an opportunity, they may send him at 11 also. So a person like Sanju also will feel bad, having done so well at the top. But he has no option but to be tight-lipped and bat wherever the team asks him to.”
Srikkanth added that Samson’s good performances at No. 5 during the Asia Cup are encouraging, and he is likely to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the 2026 T20 World Cup. “It’s a good sign for him because now Sanju is the automatic choice as the first wicketkeeper for the T20 World Cup. He is sure to bat at No. 5,” he said.
The former cricketer also predicted that the playing XI from the first T20I against Australia would closely resemble India’s World Cup 2026 squad, with only one key change. “Hardik Pandya will come into the 11 for Harshit Rana. That’ll be the 11 for the World Cup,” Srikkanth explained, noting that Arshdeep Singh might miss out again due to the team combination. He also backed Shivam Dube’s inclusion, calling him a “lucky charm” who always contributes, either with bat or ball.
