Sanju Samson's T20I career to end soon because of Virat Kohli, claims Amit Mishra

Sanju Samson who was part of India's T20 World Cup 2024 squad is unlikely to play in the 2026 edition of the tournament feels Amit Mishra. The former Indian spinner said this in a recent podcast with Shubhankar Mishra.

The event will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026. During the interaction, he said that Samson is too old and with the amount of talented young players the country has at the moment, Samson might not be considered.

Samson is 29 currently and will be 31 by the time the World Cup happens. Mishra spoke about the importance of youth in the T20I format, a culture that was first started by Virat Kojhi during his captaincy tenure. He also gave extensive importance to fitness as well which is why the current generation of Indian cricketers are fitness freaks.

"I don't think so. He is old now. There is such a heavy influx of youngsters in the team this concept was introduced by Virat Kohli – that in T20Is, young players perform more, India need them more. He himself is 35," said Mishra on Samson.

Mishra highlighted that Sanju Samson has a lot of competitors vying for the keeper-batsman's slot. He took the example of Ishan Kishan and JItesh Sharma to prove his point. He said that if Samson has to play for a long time he has to perform extraordinarily well.

If Sanju Samson Has To Play, He Has To Perform Extraordinarily Well

"If Samson has to play, he will have to perform extraordinarily well. If he is in the team now, he should remain there until the next World Cup after two years. Then he can be considered. Otherwise, it is tough. Because there are so many youngsters knocking on the door. Ishan Kishan, such a wonderful talent, is sitting out of T20Is. Rishabh Pant has always been there. Dhruv Jurel, Jitesh Sharma... it's a long queue," said Mishra on Samson's T20I future.

Samson was one of the two keeper-batsmen in India's T20 World Cup squad. However, Rishabh Pant played all the matches ahead of him. Samson got his chance in the series against Zimbabwe. In the final T20I, he scored his second T20I fifty in a winning cause for India.

He is likely to be selected in the Indian squad for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka starting later this month. Rishabh Pant might also make a comeback to the squad after being rested for the Zimbabwe series. The management will need to name a new T20I skipper before the series starts. Gautam Gambhir is expected to have a key role in selection. Kohli and Rohit who retired from T20Is after the T20 World Cup are expected to be rested for the series against Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Amit Mishra on Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube podcast has been on a verbal rant against the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. He has made a few explosive comments on the duo that have taken the cricketing world by storm. While he has criticized the duo, he has been very fondly talking about Rohit Sharma and his closeness with the Indian skipper.

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