Overview:
The moment SKY announced Samson's name, the fans went wild, considering he will play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2026.
India included Sanju Samson and Axar Patel in their playing XI for the Super 8 match against Zimbabwe. The two replaced Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar after the Men in Blue’s defeat in the previous game against South Africa. India will have to win their remaining two ICC T20 World Cup 2026 games against Zimbabwe and the West Indies to qualify for the semi-finals of the global tournament.
With Abhishek Sharma struggling with the bat, Samson’s addition will add more firepower in the batting department. On the other hand, Axar can contribute with the bat and ball, and his removal from the Proteas game led to massive backlash after Sundar’s failure.
Samson has been out of form for a long time, but the decision-makers voted in his favour with the hope of scoring runs against the Sikandar Raza-led team.
Rinku hasn’t been able to set the stage on fire, and the southpaw had to return home after his father was admitted to the hospital. Although he returned to Chennai before the game, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav went ahead with Samson,
Meanwhile, Sikandar won the toss and elected to bowl first against India.
“We were looking to bat first. We need improvement in all the departments of the game. It is time to play fearless cricket and enjoy the game. We have two changes. Sanju Samson and Axar Patel are back in the side in plcae of Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar,” Suryakumar said.
The moment SKY announced Samson’s name, the fans went wild, considering he will play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2026.