IPL 2026: Time for Sanju Samson to silence doubters

NEW DELHI: The last time Sanju Samson was here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, his international career was almost on the brink. Pencilled into the Indian XI only because Abhishek Sharma fell ill before the T20 World Cup match against Namibia in Feb, a deflated Samson walked off after scoring 22 off eight balls. On Tuesday, he will be back here as the toast of the nation. Samson’s counterfeit Chennai Super Kings jerseys will make for the majority of the inventory with the street vendors.

Samson has been at the crossroads for much of his career. But seldom has his stock been so high. His turnaround at the back end of the T20 World Cup was an answer to years of doubts over his consistency. Now that he has cemented himself as the biggest superstar in the CSK XI, it’s time he consolidated his IPL form to run for a spot in India’s 2027 ODI World Cup team. Both DC and CSK are in the logjam in the middle of the table. The losing team on Tuesday will be on the brink of elimination from the league. Despite scoring two centuries, Samson has 315 runs to his name in nine matches.

As much as he has been the facesaving force for CSK, his all-or-nothing form will frustrate the franchise. But then, that has been the norm with Samson’s IPL seasons. If he has to compel the national selectors to consider him for the second wicketkeeper’s role, he may have to replicate the T20 World Cup performances for CSK. It won’t be easy though. The Capital has become cooler with rain in the air. The last match at the venue saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru seamers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar blow away DC for 75. And at the top of the mark will be the lethal Mitchell Starc looking to expose Samson’s technique against top quality pace, movement and bounce. It’s up to Samson to dispel doubts. Tuesday will be a test of his technique and temperament to play the lead batter.