Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has stated that the Indian team management, headed by Gautam Gambhir, is making the same mistake that they did in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 by dropping Sanju Samson from the playing XI.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif has asserted that one right-hander and a left-hander is the perfect combination to have as an opening pair in the shortest format of the game. Notably, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma opened in the initial part of the mega event before going with Samson and Sharma as the eventual opening pair, which turned the momentum towards India.
“India is making the same mistake that they did in the World Cup. Ishan and Abhishek were opening. They got an off-spinner, and they started getting out. Till they did not get a big defeat, Sanju was not playing. Here as well, when you lost to Ireland, you made changes. One right-hander and one left-hander is the right way to go, which we saw in the World Cup. We were struggling against off-spinners. But with Sanju coming in, that got solved. You are making the same mistake here. Abhishek and Vaibhav cannot be your long-term openers. You need to have a right-hander at the top,” Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
“Sanju may have gotten 2-3 bad innings, but that is how he plays. Look at his career. He counters it and can make a big hundred. When he scores, he scores big. There was pressure with Vaibhav sitting out, and they made that change. But two left-handers cannot be your openers tactically. You will have to bring Sanju in. Either Abhishek or Vaibhav can play at three. There is no other choice. You will have to think long-term here. You don’t want a situation where we don’t know where someone will play, or the player does not know whether he will play or not, and there is no role clarity,” he added.
Samson could rack up only six runs in three games against Ireland and England combined. Before IPL 2026, he smacked three consecutive half-centuries to lead India to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 title and was also adjudged the Player of the Tournament.
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