The onus was on Sanju Samson to repay the faith after he was selected in the playing XI ahead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the first T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday. However, the right-handed batter failed to get going, lasting just eight balls in the middle. The T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament scored just 10 runs in the series opener against Afghanistan, and also smacked two fours. However, he ended up losing his wicket in the third over, bowled by Azmatullah Omarzai.
The clamour was right there for the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi to be played because he was named the Player of the Series against Zimbabwe for his scores of 50, 20 and 81. However, head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shreyas Iyer expressed confidence in Samson, giving him a go in the first T20I.
Also Read: IND vs AFG LIVE Score, 1st T20I 2026: Check all live updates and scorecard here
However, the 31-year-old was unable to get going as he lost his wicket against the run of play in the chase of 157. The pacer bowled it short, and the delivery induced a false shot from the experienced batter. Samson was a tad too early on the pull shot, and his mistimed shot went straight to the fielder at deep square leg.
It is worth noting that Samson was rested for the previous series against Zimbabwe, and in his place, Sooryavanshi opened the batting alongside Abhishek.
What did Manjrekar say?
After Samson lost his wicket, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said it as it is, criticising the player for not being consistent enough and not cementing his place at the top.
“Sanju Samson doesn’t help his own cause; he’s pretty inconsistent,” Manjrekar said on commentary during his stint with Murali Kartik.
Speaking of the batter, he was named the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup for his match-winning knocks against the West Indies (Super 8s), England (semi-final) and New Zealand (final). However, he failed to get going in the two T20Is against Ireland and the one against England that followed, leading to him being benched and Sooryavanshi making his debut on the tour of the UK.
However, once Sooryavanshi also failed, Samson reclaimed his place for the fifth and final T20I, only to be rested for the Zimbabwe tour.
Speaking of the first T20I between India and Afghanistan, the latter posted 156/8 in 20 overs after being asked to bat. Azmatullah Omarzai was the standout performer for his unbeaten knock of 64 while for India, Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for his three-wicket haul.
