Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar praised Sanju Samson for his heroics at the end of the T20 World Cup 2026, helping Team India clinch a second consecutive title. After a rough start to the year, the Kerala right-hander was dropped from the playing XI at the start of the tournament.
However, a shocking loss in the Super Eights to South Africa saw India pick Samson back to the opening position. The stylish batter repaid the faith shown by the management in style, scoring a hat-trick of half-centuries in the final three matches.
Samson scored a brilliant 50-ball 97* in a challenging run-chase against the West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal, before smashing back-to-back 89s in the semifinal and final against England and New Zealand.
Talking about the explosive opener in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar compared the strokeplay to that of former West Indian Vivian Richards, saying:
“His pulling, off the fierce pace of Jofra Archer, was reminiscent of Viv Richards at his powerful best, though most of his batting is more like the Sri Lankan stylist Mahela Jayawardene. Purity of batting is generally a virtue in the longest format of the game, Test match cricket, and occasionally in the 50-over game, but hardly ever in the ultra-short format of the game.”
He continued:
“Samson provided that in all his three fifty-plus innings in playing classical cricket shots, along with some of the most imperious pulling and hooking seen in recent times.”
Samson was adjudged the Player of the Tournament for his big-match performances and his overall tally of 321 runs at an average of over 80 and a strike rate of almost 200.
“Both the openers had justified the trust shown in them” – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar praised Sanju Samson’s opening partner, Abhishek Sharma, for also repaying the team management’s trust with a brilliant half-century in the final against New Zealand. The southpaw had been in woeful form before the summit clash, averaging a dismal 12.70 in seven innings in the tournament.
However, in the final, Abhishek returned to full glory, smashing a breathtaking 21-ball 52.
“In the final, Abhishek Sharma came good with the quickest half-century in the T20 World Cup. Both the openers had, with their performances when it mattered most, justified the trust shown in them by the team’s brains trust,” said Gavaskar (via the aforementioned source).
The openers added 98 for the first wicket in a mere 43 balls to all but seal New Zealand’s fate in the final.
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
