Sanju Samson posts upbeat message after beating Shubman Gill to T20 World Cup squad
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Sanju Samson has finally been offered his rightful spot at the top of the Indian batting order. The Indian wicket-keeper batter beat Shubman Gill in the race for the ICC T20 World Cup opening spot and celebrated with an Instagram post.
The Indian Men's Selection Committee has announced the final 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup, and Sanju Samson has been named in the squad alongside the other members of the team.
Indian Squad for the T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wk), and Rinku Singh.
Sanju Samson's cryptic Instagram post after T20 World Cup selection
Sanju Samson had been one of India's starlets in the shortest format of the game; over the last year of 2024, he even became the first batter to score three hundreds in the T20I format in a calendar year.
However, despite his indispensable form, Sanju Samson had to lose his opening spot to Shubman Gill, who made a comeback to the format under Gautam Gambhir. Gill was also named the vice-captain of the side, and hence, he could not be replaced, and Samson eventually lost his spot in the playing XI, as he failed to adapt in the middle order.
However, now that Shubman Gill has been snubbed from the T20I side for the World Cup and Sanju Samson has been picked, it seems he has regained his spot at the top of the Indian batting order. The batter has celebrated his moment of joy with an Instagram post.
The post mentions a caption, which suggests, "Colors will not fade, definitely!!" which gives a glimpse of his determination to make it count for the Men in Blue.
INSTAGRAM POST SANJU SAMSON 🥹
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 20, 2025
- The WK for the T20I World Cup 2026. pic.twitter.com/9PcCOPDDaz
Shubman Gill dropped due to a combination - Explained Ajit Agarkar
Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill has not been dropped from the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup due to his poor form or due to his unavailability due to injuries. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has revealed that Shubman Gill has been dropped only because he does not fit in the combination for India.
Gill has lacked form since his return to the Indian T20I setup; he has poor numbers with the bat and has failed to make it count in the 15 games he played for India. He might be one of the backup reserves for India, but India did not name any of their reserve players.
Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian skipper, suggested that since the tournament is hosted by India, all players will be ready and could be called in if needed at any point.
Ishan Kishan handed the backup wicket-keeper spot for the ICC T20 World Cup
Rishabh Pant, the wicket-keeper batsman who was part of India's ICC T20 World Cup-winning squad in the USA and the Caribbean in 2024, has constantly been overlooked by coach Gautam Gambhir. Now Jitesh Sharma has also failed to make it to the World Cup squad.
Instead, Jharkhand wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan has been drafted into the squad as Sanju Samson's backup gloveman. Kishan was the highest run-scorer in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and he led his team, Jharkhand, to the SMAT title as well.
The batter has rightly been offered the spot, marking his sheer domination and form in recent times, unlike Jitesh Sharma, who lacks consistency and Rishabh Pant, who has been absent from limited-overs action for a long time.
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