Sanju Samson Cashes in on Shubman Gill's Absence, Has he Booked His Spot as Opener With Abhishek Sharma For 2026 T20 World Cup?

2026 T20 World Cup: Playing his first game in a long time after being on the bench, Sanju Samson showed no rustiness as he hit a fluent 37 off 22 balls in Ahmedabad on Friday during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa. He made it to the XI after vice-captain Shubman Gill was ruled out for the game due to a toe injury. Gill's form has been concerning at the top of the order and looking at Samson, he seems to be in good touch - does that mean the latter has sealed his spot as an opener for the marquee event? 

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Gill's Concerning Form

Gill, who is a quality player was drafted into the T20I scheme of things during the Asia Cup, but since then - he has not played an innings of significance and hence the question, has Samson sealed his spot. To put things in perspective, Gill has gone without a fifty in his last 18 T20I innings. In the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, he has scores of 4, 0 and 28. 

Former India coach Ravi Shastri also said that Samson is a very good fit as an opener and asked the management to stick with him going ahead. 

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Samson or Gill vs NZ? 

Team India still have five more T20Is left to go before the marquee event and it will be interesting to see if Gill opens against New Zealand or will Samson be preferred. A tricky call to make for coach Gautam Gambhir.