The way forward as India moves into the 2026 T20 World Cup cycle doesn’t look particularly encouraging if you’re Sanju Samson. After a slim run before this stage, the direction from the Indian camp seems largely settled. Ishan Kishan has emerged as the preferred opener alongside Abhishek Sharma, a challenge underlined by form and difficult to compete with given his returns since rejoining India’s T20I side.
However, clarity at the top of the order rarely brings clarity to everyone else. For Samson, this raises an uncomfortable but unavoidable question. Does this moment mark the end of his time in India’s T20 plans? The answer, at least for now, is not so definitive.
He may not have the starring role he once hoped for, but that may not be the end of the road. In cricket and in sport more generally, influence is not always given by who starts. Sometimes it is shaped by those who wait just outside the frame and are asked to impress.
Role change for Sanju Samson
With the batting unit more or less settled, it’s pretty clear what Samson needs to do next. He may no longer be in contention for a permanent spot in the playing XI, but his place in the lineup still requires preparation rather than resignation. In practice, this means preparing for situations rather than selections.
Just because this Indian team looks balanced and in form, it is not immune to disruption. Injuries, niggles or a sudden loss of form have a way of changing plans even in the most stable of settings. The 2023 Cricket World Cup was a reminder of how quickly equations can change. When Hardik Pandya was dropped midway through the tournament, it opened the door Mohammed Shami who went on a remarkable run although India fell short in the final.
Samson’s situation is not identical, but the lesson applies. Opportunity at this level is often unplanned. Those who benefit are usually those who remain prepared long before that moment arrives.
Samson was part of the Indian team when they won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, but his the role was limited to the margin. With Rishabh Pant preferred as the wicket keeper, he did not play a single match. It’s a position he’d like to avoid repeating this time around, especially with another World Cup cycle unfolding ahead of him.
If this opportunity is to come, the required approach is uncomplicated. Samson needs no reinvention or re-correction. Going back to basics, trusting your instincts and playing with freedom have always been his strengths. At a time when roles are tight and chances can be short, clarity of mind might matter more than technical prowess.
It still depends on why the “task is not complete”.
Few athletes have captured this idea more clearly than Kobe Bryant. The work-in-progress phrase, now inseparable from Bryant’s Mamba mentality, was never about guts. It was a refusal to consider progress as completion. Being ahead, or even part of the setup, meant little if the work itself remained incomplete.
This mindset applies just as strongly to players operating on the fringes. Sports have repeatedly shown that timing can trump position and that one moment can redefine a career.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spent much of Manchester United’s treble-winning season in 1999 out of the starting eleven. However, his legacy was shaped by the only goal in stoppage time that decided the Champions League final. Minutes mattered less than readiness.
Cricket offers its own parallel. During the 2019 Ashes, Marnus Labuschagne entered the competition as a concussion replacement for Steve Smith. What followed wasn’t a brief performance, but a defining streak that turned an unexpected opening into permanence.
For Samson, this means the work is not done. Not as a slogan, but as a condition of survival at this level. Stay prepared for the moment that may come without warning, but still change everything.
Waiting without guarantees
This balance between waiting and being ready now defines Samson’s position.
Aakash Chopra made this clear during the post-match coverage when the discussion turned to Samson’s limited participation in the warm-up against South Africa.
“If one of Ishan or Sanju is in the XI and you’ve only picked one extra batter besides them, then if Sanju’s not in form, the batting can come at any time, can’t it? Someone can get injured, someone can wake up in the morning with a fever or lose form. Then you’d want to push him in, and that can happen.”
It is also possible that he doesn’t even get to bat in his natural position as he is the only batsman who could bat anywhere. So today was an opportunity. If he scores runs as well, it would be perfect.”
These comments reveal a contradiction in how Samson is treated. He is retained as a cover but does not have enough opportunities to stay fit for the match. If the expectation is that he can be involved in the short term, then denying him time in the middle during the warm-up undermines that logic.
India may have missed a trick by not allowing Samson to bat. Warm-up games exist precisely for players on the fringes to build rhythm, test flexibility and reduce risk if circumstances force a late change. Keeping Samson available without keeping him active leaves him vulnerable to a readiness assessment that he hasn’t been allowed to develop.
For Samson, it remains the toughest role in the team. Not to be the first choice, but not to be expendable either. It requires patience and preparation, even if the opportunities to sharpen that preparation are limited. In a World Cup cycle where the margins are thin, this imbalance may matter more than it seems.
For now, Sanju Samson remains caught between relevance and opportunity. He’s close enough to be considered, but not settled enough to be given a defined role. In a World Cup cycle that is already starting to crystallize, it’s a tough place to fill.
Whether this phase leads to further opening will depend on circumstances as much as on performance. Injuries happen. Form shifts. Plans change. When they do, Samson will have to be ready and India will have to decide if they are willing to use him.
Until then, the work is not finished.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 5, 2026