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    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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