Sanju Samson's Uncertain Career in Indian Cricket
Sanju Samson’s international career has never followed a straight line. It has been a collage of audacious strokeplay, big-match temperament and, just as often, a brutal reminder of how fragile an India spot can be. Ten years after his debut, the wicketkeeper-batter still walks into every series knowing nothing is guaranteed.
Ravichandran Ashwin has watched that journey from close quarters. Now, he’s putting a hard spotlight on what it might be doing to Samson’s mind.
A decade of stop-start chances
Samson first pulled on an India shirt in 2014. Since then, he has floated on the fringes: in, out, recalled, sidelined. Not because of a lack of talent. Not because he failed to deliver in big moments.
Ashwin underlined exactly that contradiction. He pointed to a player who, even after ticking the biggest box of all – a standout global tournament – still found himself fighting for his place.
“If you are Samson, won't you feel that you did brilliantly in the World Cup and then in Ireland all the batters struggled. Then he failed one game in England and got dropped, he must be experiencing difficult mental battles and wondering why no one understands his position. His journey hasn't been easy, considering he started in 2014,” Ashwin said.
That is the crux. Perform, and the conversation becomes, “Why wasn’t he backed earlier?” Fail once, and the old labels return in an instant.
From World Cup high to the selection axe
The contrast in Samson’s recent timeline is stark.
At the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, he was not just good; he was the best. Player of the Tournament. The kind of title that usually cements a career, not complicates it.
He carried that form into the tour of Ireland, where batting looked a struggle for most. Samson still stood up, strengthening the sense that he had finally broken through the glass ceiling.
Then the dip. Three consecutive failures in T20Is, and the rope snapped quickly.
For the second T20I against England in July, Samson was out of the XI. In came young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a move that did more than just tweak a team sheet. It framed Samson’s place as a straight shoot-out with a rising name.
Samson returned for the final game of the series, but the message had already been sent. Soon after, his name vanished from the T20I squad for the Zimbabwe tour. Another door closed just as it seemed he had kicked it open for good.
His next chance arrived against Afghanistan. Back in the XI for the opening T20I, he had eight balls to make a statement. He managed 10 runs. Not a disaster, not a rescue act either. Just enough to keep the debate alive and his position under the scanner yet again.
The Sooryavanshi shadow and a mental battle
Ashwin believes the equation is no longer just about Samson’s runs. It is about the player sitting out when he plays.
According to him, that comparison with Sooryavanshi twists the pressure.
“When he plays well, people give the feeling of saying, 'I told you so that time itself'. Yet, when he fails, they'll say he never plays well and is inconsistent so they put pressure on him. You are never sure if the accusation from people is about Samson failing or about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sitting out because of him playing. You wonder how it'll feel to be Sanju Samson,” Ashwin added.
That is a harsh spotlight for any cricketer. Every innings becomes a referendum, not only on his own future but on the opportunity cost for the next man in line.
For Samson, the numbers on the scoreboard tell only half the story. The other half plays out in the gaps between series, in the silence after a single low score, in the knowledge that one bad night can erase weeks of good work.
He has already shown he can dominate a World Cup. The question now is whether he will finally be allowed to build a career that matches that peak, or whether Indian cricket’s great enigma will remain trapped in this loop of brilliance and doubt.
