After playing his last T20I in 2023, Ishan Kishan made a comeback to the India cricket team in January 2026 in the series against New Zealand. He was picked in the squad for both the series against NZ and the T20 World Cup 2026, after his consistent performances with the bat which also saw him lead Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Now, Kishan was the preferred player for India in the playing XI in the marquee event, and managed to keep Sanju Samson out for quite some number of games. But that changed very quickly, with Samson making an instant impact on his return as an opener, and even went on to being named the Player of the Tournament in the T20 WC.
How Samson accepted Kishan as his replacement in the playing XI
Speaking on a podcast with Abhinav Mukund, CSK’s Sanju Samson revealed that it Kishan’s century in the former’s hometown – Thiruvananthapuram – in the 4th T20I against New Zealand which forced him to agree on the fact that he will have to give up a spot in India’s playing XI. Talking about Sanju, he faced a lot of ups and downs after becoming the first player to score three centuries in a calendar year, only to lose his spot as an opener to a returning Shubman Gill in the lead up to the marquee event and being forced to bat down the order, where he had the least experience. Samson heaped praise on Ishan , noting that he had done well in SMAT and had done well enough to earn his spot in India’s XI in the T20 World Cup 2026.
“In Trivandrum when he scored that hundred, I was like ‘Sanju now you just give it to him boss he deserves it more than you do. You got your chances you didn’t score runs but there is someone who is in tremendous form’. He has come out of Mushtaq Ali has done everything right to reach there and he scored a century also just before the World Cup starts, so now I think, ‘Sanju you just leave it’,” Samson said on a CSK podcast.
Credit: Avijit Das via AlamyAfter being sidelined since 2023, earned his way back into the T20I setup with consistent performances in domestic cricket. And it paid off. He was extremely consistent for India in the T20 WC. He finished with 317 runs to his name from 9 innings, averaging 35.22 and boasting of a strike rate of 193.29. Kishan provided the perfect stability for India while majorly batting at number 3.
However, Sanju Samson proved to be India’s MVP in the tournament. Samson had no idea that he would have a crucial role to play after being snubbed out of the T20 WC opener against USA. He fared rather poorly in the game against Namibia and Zimbabwe, registering scores of 22 and 24. However, it was during the knockout stages and crucial matches where Samson proved his worth. His match-winning knocks of 97*, 89 and 89 against West Indies (in Super 8), England (in the semi-final) and New Zealand (in the final) propelled him to being named the Player of the Series, with 321 runs to his name from 5 innings, averaging 80.25 and boasting of a strike rate of 199.37.
How Sanju Samson accepted ‘out of system’ Ishan Kishan as his replacement in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 XI Inside Sport India.
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