'Sanju is old': Ex-India spinner snubs Samson from next T20 World Cup citing 'concept introduced by Virat Kohli'

Sanju Samson and Virat Kohli

Despite winning just one ICC trophy in the last decade, India have always remained a powerhouse in cricket. The Men In Blue recently won the T20 World Cup played in USA and West Indies. And prior to that they finished as the runners-up in the 50-over World Cup, which was played in India last year. If we go further behind, India have finished runners-up in both the World Test Championship finals held so far.

The performance reflects India's dominance in the cricketing scenario and the abundance of talent available in the country. Such has been the case that sometimes even the best has to be content waiting on the sidelines. And a prime example of it is Sanju Samson. The Rajasthan Royals skipper was part of India's T20 World Cup winning squad, but didn't get a chance in a single match throughout the tournament. And now with talismanic batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retiring from the shorter format, does Samson fit in the new scheme of things?

This was one of the questions posed to veteran India spinner Amit Mishra in a podcast ('Unplugged' by Shubhankar Gupta on YouTube). Mishra, who gave blunt replies to most questions, had a straightforward take on this too.

Mishra is under the opinion that Samson may not make the cut for the 2026 T20 World Cup, citing his age as the potential reason. "I don't think so. He is old now. There is such a heavy influx of youngsters in the team this concept was introduced by Virat Kohli – that in T20Is, young players perform more, India need them more. He himself is 35"

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Mishra then pointed out the "long queue" to fill in the wicketkeeper-batter slot, and cited the names of Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel, Jitesh Sharma, and Rishabh Pant, the players who are already in the mix. "If Samson has to play, he will have to perform extraordinarily well. Then, it can be thought about. If he is in the team now, he should remain there until the next World Cup after two years. Then he can be considered. Otherwise, it is tough. Because there are so many youngsters knocking on the door. Ishan Kishan, such a wonderful talent, is sitting out of T20Is. Rishabh Pant has always been there. Dhruv Jurel, Jitesh Sharma... it's a long queue," he said.

'T20 is not a young player's game'

Mishra also tried debunking the myth of T20 being a "young player's game". Once again citing big names from both 2007 and 2024 World Cups, both which India won, the spinner emphasised the importance of balance between experience and youth.

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"The type of format this is, everyone has a fixed mindset that this is a young player's game. But who wins you games in T20Is? It's the seniors. From the 2007 T20 World Cup, take out Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni and Harbhajan? Would you have won it? No. From the 2024 T20 World Cup squad, take out Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, Hardik… would they have won it? Your guess is as good as mine. So, seniors with experience are also needed in the T20 set-up," he said.