Irfan Pathan has claimed that Sanju Samson has taken over as India’s batting leader after Abhishek Sharma’s struggles continued at the 2026 FIFA World Cup T20. Samson scored 89 against England, following up the 97 he scored against West Indies, which helped India reach the final of the tournament. The goalkeeper now has 232 runs in four matcheswith an average of 77.33 and a strike-rate of 201.73.
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IND vs ENG T20 WORLD CUP 2026: MAIN | SCORECARD
On the other hand, Abhishek scored nine runs in the match against England as he failed again in the T20 World Cup. The southpaw has 89 runs from seven matches so far. On his YouTube channel, Pathan praised Samson for winning the match against Jofro Archer.
“Prior to this game, the match looked problematic. But Samson didn’t struggle with Archer’s pace – he embraced it. He played square, especially when the ball was outside the leg stump, which made it easier for him. There were slower balls too, so he didn’t force the shots straight. Instead, he aimed for the leg side at shorter lengths.”
“There was a moment when Harry Brook dropped his catch and Archer could have dismissed him again. But after that the shots that Samson played – especially the back leg six against Archer’s slower ball over the off side – were outstanding,” said Pathan.
Pathan was also impressed with the momentum Samson maintained throughout his knocks and pointed out how his batting made England contain Will Jacks till the end.
“The way Samson is batting now, I feel like he has taken responsibility. Abhishek Sharma is not scoring so it seems Samson has decided to take charge and lead the team forward. The pace he is maintaining is commendable.”
“Because of Samson’s batting, the opposition can’t execute their plans properly. That’s why England dropped the bowling of Will Jacks. But when Harry Brook finally brought Jacks in the final over, Hardik Pandya smashed two sixes. It was a bad move – but Samson and Shivam Dube forced the wrong move,” said Pathan.
SAMSON defends ABHISHEK
Samson came to the defense of Abhishek right after the England match and said he expects his batsman to be good against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad.
“We have a great atmosphere in the dressing room. Our leaders have a lot of faith in Abhishek and we all support him. Every player goes through ups and downs. It can take a few good shots in the middle and everything can change in this format. We still believe in him and who knows – maybe it will be his day in the final,” Sanju Samson told reporters after the second Mu semi-final.
India will face the Blackcaps in the final on Sunday, March 8.
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Published on:
06 Mar 2026 15:57 IST
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