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Sanju Samson faces massive blow after horrible IND vs ENG series; even Ruturaj Gaikwad has better rank

Sanju Samson faces massive blow after horrible IND vs ENG series; even Ruturaj Gaikwad has better rank

Sanju Samson has worse T20I batting rankings than Ruturaj Gaikwad, who played his last match for India back in July 2024.

Prior to the India vs England T20I series, Sanju Samson was the first-choice opener for India. He had three centuries in five games and Abhishek Sharma was at the deep end. Had Abhishek endured another poor series, it would’ve surely made his case worse. But now, the roles have been reversed. Following a breathtaking series, Abhishek Sharma has gained as many as 38 ranks but Samson has lost 5 places and isn’t among the top 30 T20I-ranked batters.

Bouncers might’ve ‘short’end Samson’s career

The India vs. England T20I series was one of the worst for Sanju Samson. His tally was 51 runs; that’s all he made. Opening the batting, he faced just 43 balls across these five games. Of these 43, 29 were short-pitched deliveries, i.e., bouncers. Samson looked to live and die by his sword. He tried to hammer them but lost his wicket every time in attempting a hit. Every sixth delivery he faced, he was dismissed by the balls aiming at his head.

MatchesBallsRunsOutAverageStrike Rate
5293557.00120.68
Sanju Samson vs bouncers in IND vs ENG T20Is

By the end of the series, Samson even injured his fingers. His Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate Jofra Archer hit Samson on his index finger, due to which Samson now will be out of action for at least a month. While he wasn’t selected for the IND vs ENG ODIs and for the ICC Champions Trophy anyway, Samson will have time to recover. Meanwhile, what would be more concerning for him would be his place in the side.

Ruturaj Gaikwad > Samson?

With his blistering 37-ball century, Abhishek has done himself a huge favour. When stars like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal make a return to the T20I side, it might be Samson who would make way as an opener. Samson’s latest ICC Men’s T20I rankings is an image for that. Samson, who was in 29th place after the IND vs SA series, has lost five slots and is now at 34th. To give context, even Ruturaj Gaikwad ranks higher than him. Gaikwad played his last T20I series for India against Zimbabwe in July 2024. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper is another player who would like to open for India.

MatchScoreSR
5th T20 vs ENG16 (7)228.57
4th T20 vs ENG1 (3)33.33
3rd T20 vs ENG3 (6)50
2nd T20 vs ENG5 (7)71.43
1st T20 vs ENG26 (20)130

Highest-rated T20I batters ft. Samson, Gaikwad

RankPlayerRating
2Abhishek Sharma829
3Tilak Varma803
5Suryakumar Yadav738
12Yashasvi Jaiswal671
21Ruturaj Gaikwad589
34Sanju Samson565
41Shubman Gill544
51Hardik Pandya506
55Rinku Singh498
58Shivam Dube484
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