Sanju Samson is in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He has failed to score runs in 2026 and is struggling with form in the 2025 season as well. Firstly, he was dropped into an unusual batting position to fit Shubman Gill into the team. After this he was also out of the team. But ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, he was brought back into the team and even opened the innings.
In the recently concluded home series against New Zealand, the wicketkeeper batsman scored 46 runs in five innings against the Kiwis, in which his average dropped to 9.20. He has faced criticism from many former cricketers and pundits, recently the name of former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has also been included in this list.
‘We have to blame Samson for his out of form’- Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan has given a big statement after Sanju Samson’s poor performance in the T20 series against the Kiwi team. He believes that the Indian selectors should also be blamed for Sanju Samson’s poor performance when he was in good form and was dropped in place of Gill.
Irfan Pathan said in a recent video uploaded on his YouTube channel, “As far as Sanju Samson is concerned, he has not scored runs. A batsman has to struggle because of two things. Firstly, the mentality of a batsman is not in the right place and secondly because of technical lapses. A batsman who could not perform consistently but when he performed well, scored three centuries at the top and because of some other player he was asked to bat lower down the order. We Credit to the selectors for Ishan Kishan, but we have to blame them for Samson’s out of form.”
“If you put a player in a situation where another player has scored and the situation changes, then the problem arises. That’s what happened with Samson. Players who play domestic cricket can relate to this. When you have performed and another player is picked in your place, you either get upset or lose or lose confidence. You have not done anything wrong but your place is always under question.”
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Irfan Pathan explained the reason for Sanju Samson’s poor form.
Irfan also pointed out the fact that no team would want their opening batsmen to be out of form and unable to score runs ahead of a big tournament. He also said that Samson’s batting stance was making it difficult for him to score runs on the off side, as he was out playing on the leg side.
Irfan further said, “Samson had no mistakes when he played regularly. Now he is not in form. Samson does not look mentally right and there are technical shortcomings too. No team would want an opener in their eleven who is struggling for runs and struggling with two things. The responsibility lies with the selectors.”
“For Ishan Kishan, the selectors deserve credit and he should be blamed for Samson. If you look at his stance, he is playing with a closed bat face. If the bat face is a little closed, then it is fine, but it is too closed. When he is playing, the bat face is closed even at the impact point.”
“That’s why Samson is getting bowled and struggling to play on the off-side. The bottom arm is tight, resulting in a closed face and he has to work on that. He got out in the fifth T20I because the face of the bat was closed to the leg side. He had been bowled earlier in the series and the face of the bat had not been so closed before.”
‘It is very difficult for Sanju Samson and he is also unlucky’- Irfan Pathan
Pathan also believes that Sanju Samson will lose his place in the playing eleven in the T20 World Cup, as Ishan Kishan showed great form in the series against the Black Caps, scoring 215 runs.
He concluded, “The situation now is such that when Tilak Verma returns, he will bat at No. 3. Ishan Kishan will bat at the top and because of the form he has shown, everyone has to agree. It is very difficult for Sanju Samson and he is unfortunate too. It was a very good series for India and if any player is not performing, they have a ready-made backup. So, it is a strong bench strength.”
