A row of talks has been sparked about Sanju Samson, as he failed to get runs in the last leg of preparation before the World Cup. In the last match against New Zealand, he was dismissed with a duck on the very first ball of the innings. Previously, Sanju had been dropped from the team, and Gill replaced him. After failing to score a fifty in the 15 innings he played in 2025, Gill got dropped from the team, and Sanju got chances again. He showed the spark in the last two matches against South Africa, but failed to bring it in the New Zealand series. Amid that, Ishan Kishan, who is in the team as a backup wicket keeper, has already showed glimpse of his form while playing in place of Tilak Varma. Meanwhile, Sanju’s bad patch grabbed the eyes of the experts, and they recommended Ishan Kishan as an opener if Sanju failed to deliver on time.
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The musical chair of the Indian opening has started from the time of the Asia Cup till now; the management has failed to find a balance with Abhishek Sharma, as each time Abhishek Sharma has taken the responsibility of opening alone. Fans have also started to raise questions about that. Amid everything, Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel shed light on the matter, emphasising Sanju’s importance in the team.
‘Sanju is one knock away from finding his form back’
Talking in the pre-match conference, the Indian bowling coach opened up about the Sanju dilemma, saying, “Sanju is one knock away from finding his form back. We all know the cliché word that form is temporary. For us, building up to the World Cup, it's important for the guys to find that peak performance at the right time. He's training well, he's hitting the ball very well, so I think it's just a matter of time for him to get his squad on board.”
He also added, “But the main focus is that the team is winning, and I think that's important. We're 3-0 up in the series at the moment, the boys are playing some very good cricket, and we've got a couple of games now before the start of the World Cup, and I have no doubt that Sanju will find his form and runs on the board.”
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The whole of India knows what will happen if Sanju and Abhishek both start a carnage with the bat, but so far, just like the Dhurandhar movie, the modern T20I master, Abhishek Sharma, is only getting success in the opening and standing tall till the last.
