Page 44 - The Indian EYE 071726

STUMP VISION JULY 17, 2026 | The Indian Eye 44

From 199 Strike Rate to

the Bench: The Shocking Drop

of Sanju Samson

When the squad for the Zimbabwe tour was announced without Samson, it started a major debate. The BCCI

claimed Samson was just being “rested” to manage his workload, but cricket experts did not buy it

ARCHAN MEHTA

n the tough world of international
cricket, yesterday’s hero can easi-
Ily become today’s forgotten man.
In July 2026, India’s selectors
shocked fans by leaving wicketkeep-
er-batter Sanju Samson out of the
T20I squad for the tour of Zimba-
bwe. This came as a huge surprise be-
cause Samson had just been named
the Player of the Tournament at the
T20 World Cup in March, where In-
dia won the title. During that tourna-
ment, he was in incredible form, scor-
ing 321 runs with an amazing average
of 80.25 and a massive strike rate of
199.38. His big knocks in the knock-
out matches, like his 97 not out against
the West Indies and 89s against En-
gland and New Zealand, made him
look like a permanent star in India’s
new team under captain Shreyas
Iyer and coach Gautam Gambhir.
This amazing run came after a
very difficult time. After struggling
in a series against New Zealand ear- From a team management perspective, dropping a proven match-winner after just three bad games can make the rest of the players feel very
lier in January, Samson talked with
Sachin Tendulkar to fix his mental insecure (ANI file photo)
preparation and approach. The ad-
vice worked. He carried that confi- Chester-le-Street. Worried by this Critics pointed out that since Samson ping Samson also left the top order
dence into IPL 2026, where he moved sudden slump, the team manage- only plays T20Is for India, he did not with too many left-handed batsmen,
to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ment took action. Before the next need rest. Instead, it was clear that making it easier for opponents to
and became their best batsman. He match in Manchester, coach Gautam coach Gautam Gambhir preferred bowl against them. To fix this, selec-
scored 477 runs in 14 matches. Along Gambhir had a long, supportive talk to pick players based on immediate tors should give tournament heroes a
the way, he broke MS Dhoni’s old with Samson on the field. Samson form rather than past success, giving guaranteed run of 8 to 10 matches so
franchise record for the most runs by was then left out of the team, al- chances to other players like Prabh- they can play without fear.
a CSK wicketkeeper in a single sea- lowing 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav simran Singh and Ishan Kishan. Ultimately, elite sport is a bru-
son, reached 5,000 career IPL runs, Sooryavanshi to make his debut as From a team management tal business where past reputations
and smashed a brilliant 115 not out India’s youngest-ever international perspective, dropping a proven mean nothing once you step onto
against the Mumbai Indians at the cricketer. match-winner after just three bad the field. While testing young talent
Wankhede Stadium. When the squad for the Zim- games can make the rest of the play- is important for the future, keeping
However, cricket can change babwe tour was announced without ers feel very insecure. Veteran bowl- your best players feeling secure is
very fast, and Samson’s form Samson, it started a major debate. er Ravichandran Ashwin warned just as vital for winning. Samson has
dropped quickly during India’s tours The BCCI claimed Samson was just that when players fear losing their bounced back from career-threaten-
of Ireland and England. In Ireland, being “rested” to manage his work- spot, they stop playing with a fearless, ing slumps before, and his talent is
he scored just 5 and 0 as India suf- load, but cricket experts did not buy team-first attitude. Instead of trying still world-class. For Sanju Samson,
fered a historic 0-2 series loss. Things it. They said using the word “rested” to hit a quick 50 off 25 balls, a bats- the road back to the top requires
did not get better in England, where was just an easy way to hide that a man might play safely and take 32 turning this latest setback into the ul-
he made only 1 run from 7 balls in player had actually been dropped. balls just to protect his place. Drop- timate comeback setup.

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