Abhishek, Samson to open in next 10 T20Is, Sooryavanshi can wait: Ex-India batter

Former India batsman S Badrinath has backed Abhishek Sharma and Sanja Samson to continue as India’s opening pair in T20Is, urging the team management to extend the duo instead of repeatedly switching between Samson and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Badrinath believes that India should settle for the combination and assess its performance in the long run. With Samson returning to the side for the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan, Sooryavanshi had to wait for his opportunity despite an impressive run in his previous engagement against Zimbabwe.

“Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson should open in the next 10 T20Is after this series. Then if Sanju Samson fails, drop him and pick Sooryavanshi. They should follow that process instead of rotating the two from one series to another. I feel it was unfair to Samson,” Badrinath said on his YouTube channel, Cric it.

Meanwhile, Abhishek continues to justify his place at the top. In the first T20I against Afghanistan, he smashed 82 off just 32 balls, including seven sixes and seven fours, as India chased down 157 off 38 balls.

“GIVE SANJU AN EXTENDED RUN”

Samson made a strong statement in the second T20I against Afghanistan in New Delhi. After managing just 10 in the series opener, Samson smashed a 22-ball 57 in the second matchhis first T20I half-century since the T20 World Cup in 2026. He hit more than 250 during the knock, underscoring his ability to give India an aggressive start.

“Samson has been performing well and is closing in on a half-century. I feel he should be extended by the end of the year. He scored two centuries and won the World Cup in India. Even if he didn’t perform as extraordinary as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, he was already there. So why do you have to drop him to bring in another youngster? Then give Sanju an extended run.

Sooryavanshi, 15, did not feature in either of the first two T20Is against Afghanistan. He had earlier impressed on the tour of Zimbabwe, scoring 151 runs at a strike rate of 196.10 and winning the Player of the Series award.

India already lead the series 2-0. They will look to complete the whitewash when the third and final T20I takes place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

17 Sep 2026 10:54 IST