India head coach Gautam Gambhir faces a complex selection decision ahead of Sunday’s opening T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The management must choose whether to retain 2026 T20 World Cup winner Sanju Samson or persist with top-order alternatives like 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager recently secured a Player of the Series award after scoring over 200 runs against Zimbabwe.
Social Media Hype Distraction
Former fast bowler Vivek Razdan believes abandoning Samson following a difficult United Kingdom tour would undermine team security under captain Shreyas Iyer. Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Razdan cautioned against rushing inexperienced options.
“The problem is that Sooryavanshi has become such a huge name on social media. The conversation is always about him due to his performances in the IPL. But I think we need to be patient. We are talking about Samson. You cannot touch Ishan Kishan and Abhishek. So the choice is between Samson and Sooryavanshi. Samson is one player who helped you win the T20 World Cup just a few months back,” Razdan said.
Merit Over Batting Partnerships
Razdan suggested that Samson’s pivotal role in securing the global title in March should outweigh any preference for a left-right batting combination. The wicketkeeper-batter amassed over 300 runs at a strike rate near 200 during that successful campaign.
Iyer will lead the side out in New Delhi on Sunday to commence the three-match series.
