Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Sanju Samson to score a big century in the remaining matches of the ICC T20 World Cup. He agrees that cameos and quick thirties could get the job done for India, but not because he won’t have a bigger platform than this.
India made massive changes to their lineup and included the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma back in the Indian playing eleven. In-form Ishan Kishan has been handed a new role at No. 3, while Tilak Verma has been demoted to a new position in the lower middle order.
As for Samson, despite being a part of the Indian team for years, he has played his first T20 World Cup game in this edition of the cup. Samson is yet to make a big impact by playing big innings in the World Cup and he prays for him to do well.
“If Sanju Samson can give me 24 runs in 14 balls…or 30 runs in 16 balls, he will have done a job” – Ravichandran Ashwin
Sanju has apparently been brought into the batting order not just to neutralize the threat of off-spinners or to give India the advantage of a left-right-handed batting combination, but he will also be used to protect Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma from getting exposed early in the innings.
For India, the two attacking players were often out early; Hence, Sanju Samson gets to play the role of the aggressor, while Abhishek may just be asked to save some time for himself.
Ravichandran Ashwin said, “If Sanju Samson can give me 14 balls for 24 runs, 15 balls for 28 runs, 16 balls for 30 runs or 17 balls for 30 runs from now till the final, then Sanju will have done a thing for the Indian team. He will be giving them a good start and once he settles down, maybe he can convert it into a big innings.”
“Sanju Samson should end this World Cup with a century.” – Ravichandran Ashwin’s big prayer for the Indian opener
However, speaking about Sanju Samson as an individual cricketer, who loves watching Ashwin play on a personal level, he wishes he could grab this opportunity as he feels an important innings here could be his last chance to make it big on the international stage.
“Sanju as a person, who I admire a lot, I want him to stick around and score big. He won’t get a better opportunity than this. I pray he gets off to a good start and takes advantage of it, which is likely to give him a great platform in international cricket,” Ashwin said.
Ravichandran Ashwin claimed that he would love to see Sanju Samson score some big centuries, and if not centuries then at least make some match-winning contributions for India, which has not been the case for a long time.
“After struggling till here, Sanju Samson has this World Cup to call ‘Century! Century! Century!’ There must be a plan to finish with.” If not three, at least one or two will do.”
He said, “If not a century, at least I want him to do a match-winning performance to build his confidence and that will be of great benefit to him. He deserves it.”
However, Ashwin also pointed out Sanju Samson’s weakness and his consistent pattern of dismissals. Either this is due to poor foot speed or it is due to missing short pitched balls.
“My concern for Sanju is the way he is getting out. Even today, he tried to play a pull shot, and after being beaten on the angle it was caught and the ball hit him quite high on his bat, around the sticker area. The reason for this is that he never goes across, but goes straight, and the lower hand comes into play. He can go out of playing this shot or play an upper cut. There is no need to change the technique, but the strategy can be changed,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
Ashwin feels this is the biggest opportunity Sanju has got so far
India is still a strong contender to win the World CupAshwin: I really want Sanju to score a big 100
I want a match-winning performance from him.
Concern for Sanju: Pattern of getting outIndia… pic.twitter.com/ETKERt5QR8
– AKCricTalks (@AKCricTalks) 27 February 2026
Ravichandran Ashwin backs Bumrah and Hardik for big matches and suggests tactical change for Varun Chakravarthy
Ravichandran Ashwin has also suggested that Jasprit Bumrah is a world-class bowler and will perform well when India need him in high-pressure games. He also praised Hardik Pandya a lot and called him the best player in the world and no one comes close to his ability.
Varun Chakravarthy, who was India’s best campaigner until this World Cup, has lost some shape and form, although he remains the leading wicket-taker for India in this edition. Ravichandran Ashwin suggests that Chakravarthy should bowl slower and play over the wicket against left-handed batsmen. He suggests some changes in strategy for them.
Also read: Tilak Verma broke his silence on Rinku Singh losing his place in India’s playing eleven.
