Following a blockbuster second half of 2024, one assumed that Sanju Samson may have at last secured the wicketkeeper spot in the India cricket team’s T20I side. Well, that’s not the case. We are about 11 months away from the T20 World Cup 2026, and every domestic cricketer featuring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season will have their eyes set on the ICC tournament.
The glitz and glam, fame and money of the IPL are great, but nothing is bigger than representing Team India in an ICC event. That’s something Samson hasn’t been able to do. He travelled for the T20 World Cup 2024 but didn’t get a chance. And there is a chance that he might get a chance next year.
Tough competition in the top order
Apart from the fact that Shubman Gill, India’s T20I vice-captain, and Yashasvi Jaiswal haven’t been playing in T20Is as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is managing their workload and that Abhishek Sharma has virtually confirmed his place in the side, Samson has to fight off other wicketkeepers as well.
As a top-order batter and wicketkeeper, he was battling Rishabh Pant already. Pant was the one who kept him out of the 2024 T20 World Cup. But he’s now facing even more competition. Earlier today, Ishan Kishan, who was making his debut for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), scored his maiden IPL hundred.
Kishan has been out of contention from T20Is for over a year now. He had fallen out of favour with the BCCI as well. Following an episode where he allegedly refused to play in domestic cricket, the BCCI didn’t renew his central contract. After struggling for a while, Kishan’s back.
Ishan Kishan & Dhruv Jurel one-upped Sanju Samson
In his 100th IPL match, Kishan scored his maiden IPL hundred. That too, in just 45 balls. But Samson was still to bat. He had the chance to one-up. But coming from a finger injury, Samson wasn’t at his best. 66 (37) would be seen as a great knock. But Rajasthan Royals (RR) were chasing 287 runs.
You needed players striking 240 to win the match. Samson ended with a strike rate of less than 180. Kishan ended with 106 (47), scoring 2.25 runs per ball. But that wasn’t it. Dhruv Jurel, RR’s wicketkeeper for the match, struck at exactly 2 runs per ball as well.
Samson wasn’t a wicketkeeper as per BCCI’s instruction. But he’ll take the gloves from Jurel soon enough. Considering this, three keepers played in the SRH vs RR match, and out of these, Samson performed the worst. Not only did Kishan and Jurel score more than him, but they also did so at a much better strike rate.
Moreover, he opened. So, he had the maximum advantage. But he failed to exploit the powerplay maximisation opportunity he had. Kishan arrived at the crease in the 4th over and remained unbeaten. Jurel arrived in the 5th over. He departed just two balls after Samson did and scored four more runs while taking four fewer balls.
