Yuzvendra Chahal, Parthiv Patel send stern message to Gautam Gambhir over Sanju Samson: ‘Pressure shouldn’t be an excuse’

Yuzvendra Chahal and Parthiv Patel have a message for India coach Gautam Gambhir as they feel the time has come to drop Sanju Samson from the playing XI in T20Is in favour of Ishan Kishan. With Samson struggling with low-scores for a while and the T20 World Cup 2026 being only a few days away, a change at the top in the Indian batting order now looks imminent.

Samson, who was out of the team, came back in place of Shubman Gill, reclaiming his opening slot next to Abhishek Sharma, but he has returned figures of 16, 10, 0, and 24 in the four matches against New Zealand.

Also Read | Sanju Samson’s paradox: When brilliance exists, but runs don’t

With India playing their first T20 World Cup 2026 match on 7 February, fans and experts feel Ishan Kishan should take the opening slot. If Kishan moves to the top, then Shreyas Iyer can come into the playing XI, or Tilak Varma if he regains fitness.

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Speaking on ‘Amul Cricket Live’, JioStar expert Parthiv Patel said that Sanju has not done enough, and India must drop him now. He added that it’s important to play Kishan as the main wicketkeeper-batter in the fifth and final T20 vs New Zealand to give him enough practice ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“If I was part of Team India’s think tank, I would play Ishan Kishan over Sanju Samson for the last match of the series. I would make Sanju sit out and go with Ishan as the wicketkeeper-batter. I am choosing this because if I want Ishan as my main keeper for the T20 World Cup, I would give him the keeping gloves in the fifth T20I and the warm-up against South Africa too," Patel said.

“It is likely that Tilak Varma will be fit before the World Cup, and reports suggest he will be. If he is fully fit, you have to keep a spot for him. So, if that decision is coming, why wait? Play Ishan Kishan now over Sanju Samson in the final match. Ishan is coming back after two years and has batted well. He will need to keep wickets in the T20 World Cup as well, so why not start now? Even if the last match is at home, for World Cup preparation, I would definitely play Ishan Kishan as the wicketkeeper-opener.”

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Yuzvendra Chahal had a similar opinion as he said Samson has no one to blame but himself after failing to take the opportunities. He feels Kishan for Samson would be the right move.

“Sanju Samson has played for many years. He started in the IPL middle-order, then became an opener. After playing international cricket for 10-12 years, pressure shouldn’t be an excuse. He has had four chances in this series. I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four. He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at number three, is waiting. Sanju will blame himself,” Chahal said.

“He had four opportunities but could not make them count. However, there’s no need to feel too bad because the T20 World Cup is still far. There’s one more match against New Zealand. It now depends on the team management’s thinking. If they feel Sanju is struggling as an opener and Ishan is doing well at number three, then the right call would be to make Sanju sit out and let Ishan Kishan take his spot as the opener and wicketkeeper in the final T20I.”

Catch all the action from the fifth T20I of New Zealand’s Tour of India 2026, on January 31, 7:00 PM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network.