Published on: Jul 3, 2026 2:19 pm IST|Updated on: Jul 3, 2026 2:19 pm IST
Team India’s tour of England has just started, but the talks around the selection of Sanju Samson have already begun. Following the opening match of the 5-match T20I series in Chester-le-Street, all eyes have turned towards the opening slot, which currently features the hot-rod T20 World Cup 2026-winning duo of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
Abhishek has been doing his things nonchalantly with two 50+ scores across three games in the United Kingdom, one fifty in the Ireland series, and the other one in the first T20I against England. However, the same couldn’t be said for Sanju Samson, who has been struggling to score runs. In the three games he has played so far in the UK tour, Sanju has scored 5, 0, and 1, raising eyebrows over his current form.
With a budding youngster like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings, could the time be running out for the wicket-keeper batter? In his torrid time, Sanju has got support from former Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik, who insists the team management stick with Sanju for now.
“Sanju Samson has, once again, had a bit of a failure. Now three innings on the bounce means the calls are coming nice and loud for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but I would still say, Sanju Samson, player of the tournament in the World Cup, he is under pressure,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
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Karthik couldn’t deny the excitement buzzing around the 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has taken the cricketing world by storm with his exceptional and explosive batting in whatever format or tournament he has featured in so far.
“I know the whole cricketing world is going to be like, ‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, when is he going to get in?’ That is understandable,” Karthik added.
At the same time, Karthik also mentioned how Sanju stormed back during the 2026 T20 World Cup campaign and eventually went on to win the prestigious Player of the Tournament award. He backed Sanju’s immense talent and also acknowledged the fact that the wicket-keeper batter from Kerala has already proven himself on the biggest stage.
“But I still hope they back someone like Sanju Samson, because, under pressure, in the World Cup, a few months ago, he got the job done, so we have to back him. Vaibhav needs to earn the right to play in this XI even though he is extremely talented, and I have no doubt he is going to do very well in international cricket,” he concluded.
After a rain-abandoned game at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street, the two teams will now head to Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester for the second game of the series. The only thing on Shreyas Iyer-led Team India’s mind would be to gain the upper hand in the series with a 1-0 lead before heading into the third game. Whether the management listens to Karthik’s advice or hands a debut to Sooryavanshi remains to be seen, but the spotlight is firmly fixed on India’s top order in Manchester.