India may have won the T20 World Cup 2026 but former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised the team management led by skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir regarding Sanju Samson’s place in the team. He said “there were serious blunders committed”.
Sanju was the Player of the Tournament after he slammed 97 not out, 89 and 89 in India’s final three matches of the tournament. The cricketer from Kerala had to sit out the initial matches of the competition but when his chance came he grabbed it with both hands.
“With Sanju Samson, I think there were serious blunders committed,” Manjrekar said in an Instagram video.
Manjrekar blasted the Indian team management for taking away Samson’s opener slot in favour of Shubman Gill.
“Sanju Samson seemed to have come of age and recently got three T20I hundreds in five innings against teams like South Africa. He was actually dropped down the order a few matches later, just after four or five innings, because Shubman Gill in England had a tremendous Test series,” Manjrekar said.
“It just warped logic that because Shubman Gill played so well in Test cricket, he was reinstated, he was recalled to the Indian T20 team, and what’s worse, Sanju Samson, who was at the top of the order, was pushed down the order to make way for Shubman Gill,” he added.
Manjrekar said that with Sanju dropped down the order affected his rhythm and came to a point where he was left out of the playing XI.
“Sanju Samson lost a bit of rhythm in the Asia Cup. He was batting down the order and became dispensable and eventually lost his place in the playing XI,” Manjrekar said.
“Now, this is where fate comes in. Rinku Singh’s absence in one of the games got Sanju Samson to come back in. Tilak Varma, who was struggling at No. 3, was pushed down the order and that is why Ishan Kishan was batting at No. 3. He could bat at No. 3, and Sanju Samson got the spot at the top of the order, which should’ve been his right through.
“As they say, the rest is history,” Manjrekar said.
Samson featured in five matches at the T20 World Cup 2026, and finished as the third-highest run-getter with 321 runs, at an excellent strike rate of 199.37.
