Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has praised India head coach Gautam Gambhir for backing Sanju Samson, whose red-hot kind with the bat has turn out to be one of many largest speaking factors of the continued ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.Samson was drafted again into the Indian taking part in XI after the staff misplaced to South Africa, in what was successfully a knockout conflict in opposition to the West Indies cricket staff. The wicketkeeper-batter seized the chance in type, smashing an outstanding 97 throughout a tense chase to information India to victory. He carried that momentum into the semi-final, producing a blistering 89 off simply 42 balls as India defeated the England cricket staff to ebook a spot within the closing in opposition to the New Zealand nationwide cricket staff.
Speaking on the ‘Game On Hai’ present on PTV Sports, Akhtar defined that Samson’s return to the aspect was not a simple name. According to the previous pacer, Gambhir needed to strongly advocate for the batter’s inclusion throughout the staff administration setup.
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“Samson has been in the Indian cricket circuit since 2014. Back in the days when I was working in India, around 2015, there was a lot of hype surrounding him. He had to wait for a long time to get regular chances as India had wicketkeepers like MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and others. Even now, Gambhir has fought with everyone to get him into the team. Basically, his selection has been done forcefully and after a lot scrutiny. He didn’t feature in the tournament initially,” mentioned Akhtar in a video shared by Tapmad.Samson’s numbers within the match underline his exceptional run of kind. In 4 matches to this point, he has collected 232 runs at a powerful common of 77.33 and a strike price of 201.73, together with two half-centuries. His highest rating stays the unbeaten 97 in opposition to West Indies within the digital quarter-final in Kolkata.The 31-year-old additionally etched his identify alongside Virat Kohli after his semi-final heroics. Samson’s 89 in opposition to England equalled Kohli’s document for the very best rating by an Indian in a T20 World Cup knockout match. Kohli had produced an equivalent 89 not out off 47 balls in opposition to the West Indies through the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016 on the similar venue.Samson has additionally dominated the six-hitting charts on this version of the match. With 16 maximums to his identify, he has already surpassed the earlier Indian document of 15 sixes in a single T20 World Cup marketing campaign, which was set by Rohit Sharma within the 2024 version.
