Sanju Samson back in Playing XI race as India coach overrules Gautam Gambhir

Team India batting coach Ryan ten Doeschate has said the team management will discuss playing Sanju Samson in the final two Super 8 games of the T20 World Cup 2026. Ten Doeschate pointed out that adding a right-handed batter at the top could also give the team a tactical option in the top order.

India suffered a 76-run defeat against South Africa in their opening Super 8 game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22. The Men in Blue will need to win the remaining two matches and also depend on other results going their way to qualify for the semifinals of the event.

Sanju Samson Is a Fantastic Player - India coach Ryan ten Doeschate

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ryan ten Doeschate described Sanju Samson as a high-quality player. He stated that having a right-handed option at the top of the order will be discussed ahead of the two crucial games.

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"Sanju is a fantastic player and obviously helps tactically with having a right-hander at the top of the order. I'm sure that will be a talking point over the next few days going into these two very important games," ten Doeschate stated.

India’s top order, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma, scored only 16 runs together. Abhishek scored 15 off 12 balls, but Ishan and Tilak were dismissed cheaply for 0 and 1, leaving the team in early trouble.

It’s Got a Wicket Every Time - Ryan Ten Doeschate on India's Struggles Against Off-Spin

Ryan ten Doeschate said that India have consistently lost early wickets to part-time off-spin at the start of the innings. He stated that early setbacks have put extra pressure on Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, making it harder for them to build the innings.

"I look in the five outings we've had now. Four teams have opened with part-time off-spin and it's got to wicked every time, apart from the USA game where we lost Abhi [Abhishek] without scoring in any case," ten Doeschate commented.

"To start every inning zero for one or a couple of runs for one every time is obviously putting pressure on the link players - Tilak and Surya. Their role is to link up with the guys at the back end and it hasn't gone that way."

He Was Very Difficult to Execute Against - Ryan Ten Doeschate

Ten Doeschate said that South Africa outbowled India by sticking to disciplined lengths. He stated that Lungi Ngidi and the other seamers controlled the game and did not allow India to bat freely, which he felt made the difference between the two teams.

"I think they just held length really well. Obviously, Lungi's the point of difference there with the slower balls, really full. We've spent so much time this week on sort of planning for that," ten Doeschate opined.

"And credit to him, despite all the planning, he was very difficult to execute against. I thought the three seamers held their lengths really well and didn't allow us to free our arms. And that was probably the difference today between the two teams."

Also read: Not Babar Azam! Ricky Ponting names Pakistan batter who’ll terrify every team in Super 8s