Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has had a hot-and-cold start to his career for India, becoming the youngest-ever debutant for the country at 15 years old. In six games so far, the left-handed opener has scored 193 runs at a strike rate of 189.21, including two fifties. However, his inclusion in the playing XI has pushed Sanju Samson out of the side, as Vaibhav opens the batting with Abhishek Sharma. As India prepares to face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan beginning on September 13 (Sunday), former batter Ajinkya Rahane has called for Sanju Samson to be given an extended run in the team.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ajinkya Rahane said that the top three of the Indian batting order vs Afghanistan should be Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. This is the same top three that the Men in Blue stuck with during their victorious run in the T20 World Cup 2026. He also particularly batted for the inclusion of Samson, who had won the Player of the Series award for his heroics in the T20 World Cup. He also felt that the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has ample time to get his chances.
“I feel the top 3 who played in the World Cup should be the top 3. Sanju Samson did very well. After that, he was dropped — maybe two or three bad innings — but after that, he was dropped. But I want Sanju Samson to get another chance. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, who did well for us, should get chances. Sooryavanshi will get his chance; his time will come. But for now, I feel the top 3 should be Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan — the ones who were our contributors in the World Cup,” Rahane opined.
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Sanju Samson’s fantastic run in T20 World Cup 2026
Sanju Samson had a phenomenal run of form in the T20 World Cup 2026, as he played a crucial role in India winning their record third championship title.
In five games he scored 321 runs at a phenomenal average of 80.25 and a massive strike rate of 199.37. This was the most number of runs ever scored by an Indian batter in a single edition of the tournament, as Samson broke the record held by Virat Kohli.
In fact, the wicketkeeper-batter smashed three back-to-back 80+ scores – 97* vs West Indies in the crucial Super 8 match, 89 vs England in the semi-final, and 89 vs New Zealand in the final.