The upcoming IND vs AFG T20I series will give better clarity to the fans on the Indian cricket team management’s pecking order with regard to the Sanju Samson vs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi conundrum.
The Indian team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer, find themselves in a difficult position of potentially benching either Samson or Sooryavanshi, the sort of match-winners other teams in the world would love to have on their side.
The India vs Afghanistan T20I series will get underway on Sunday in Delhi. On the eve of the 1st T20I, captain Iyer was quizzed on the Samson-Sooryavanshi puzzle. Iyer remained coy on who will play in the opening fixture of the series, hailing the talent that he has at his disposal.
Iyer reckoned it’s a “tight call” for him and Gambhir to make regarding the choice of openers, adding that “whoever gets the opportunity, it’s definitely for the team’s benefit.”
The Indian T20I skipper also assured that whichever opener is benched, he will be given confidence and clarity.
Logic dictates that you run back to Sanju Samson: Vivek Razdan
While it’s a tough call to make for the Iyer-Gambhir pair, for veteran commentator Vivek Razdan, Samson should be the definite choice over Sooryavanshi given the former’s memorable exploits at the T20 World Cup 2026.
Speaking on Sony Sports Network, Razdan said, “Out of the four prospects we have for the top order, only three can play. Now the difficulty here is that Sooryavanshi has become such a big name because of social media and his antics during the IPL, there is always talk about him. In my opinion, we need to show a little patience because we are talking about Sanju Samson here. You cannot touch Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.”
Renowned for calling India’s Gabba 2021 Test victory, Razdan recalled Samson’s famous heroics of three consecutive half-centuries in the T20 World Cup this year, a feat that has etched his name in the hearts of the fans and established his legacy in the annals of Indian cricket.
The revered commentator also pointed out that India’s top 7 is filled with a spate of left-handers – Abhishek, Ishan, Axar, and Tilak along with one or both of Dube and Sundar – which became a problem for India during the T20 WC, prompting the management to bring in Samson, replacing Rinku Singh in the line-up.
“Samson is a player who won India a World Cup a few months back and was the player of the tournament as well. So this becomes a tricky problem. So logic dictates that you run back to Sanju Samson.
“If you look at India’s batting unit, you have Kishan, Axar Patel, Abhishek, and Tilak Varma, who are all left-handers. There’s only Iyer who is a right-hander in there. Also, Samson is not a small name that we are discussing here. So, in my opinion, India should look to start the series with Sanju Samson,” Razdan asserted.
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