"Has Technical Problem": Sunil Gavaskar On India Star Days Ahead Of T20 World Cup Match vs Pakistan

Sanju Samson continues his lean patch in T20I cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter was dropped from India's playing XI in T20 World Cup 2026 at the expense of Ishan Kishan following a string of low scores. He could muster only 46 runs across five matches against New Zealand in the series that served as the final dress rehearsal for the mega event. On the other hand, Kishan has been in sensational form upon his return to India colours. Kishan's impressive performance forced the team management to bench Samson for the side's campaign opener against the USA.

As fate would have it, an unwell Abhishek Sharma missed out on India's second match, which was against Namibia, and Samson got his chance.

The wicketkeeper-batter started well, dealing in boundaries, but failed to take his innings deep. He scored 22 off eight with the help of one four and three sixes. Samson got out after chipping the ball to the fielder at deep mid-wicket. He went deep inside his crease to manufacture the shot but failed to get the placement right.

Reacting to his dismissal, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said on JioHotstar that Samson needs to fix a technical issue in his batting. Diving deep into it, the cricket legend explained, "Sanju Samson has a technical problem. He goes too deep into the crease and plays that flick shot. You can only hope he times it into the gap or that it goes for six."

"He needs to make improvements, especially when he opens against the new ball. Namibia were clever with their field placements. They set a field specifically to get Samson out. But it was good that he played some nice shots - that must have given him confidence. If he plays the next match against Pakistan, he needs to spend more time at the crease," he added.

There is uncertainty about Abhishek Sharma's return to the playing XI for India's match vs Pakistan, as he is currently recovering from a stomach infection. If the southpaw is unavailable for the much-anticipated clash on February 15 in Colombo, Samson will continue to play at his spot.

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket India Cricket Team Namibia T20 World Cup 2026 Sunil Gavaskar Sanju Samson Pakistan Cricket Team