Chasing a daunting 215 against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 at Mullanpur, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan turned a high-pressure contest into an exhibition of timing, elegance and composure.
While Abhishek Sharma's explosive century stole the headlines, Samson's replacement by Dhruv Jurel raised questions about his availability.
His consistency comes at a crucial time, with stiff competition for a spot in India's Asia Cup XI following Shubman Gill's return as vice-captain, and the inclusion of wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma after a stellar IPL season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's status as one of the all-time greats in the IPL will never be in doubt and prolonging his career for another season to bid farewell to the fans doesn't make sense in a competitive league like the IPL.
India, bidding to become the first team to successfully defend the Twenty20 World Cup title, face an England side building momentum in their semifinal at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan?
The Indian Test team selection meeting in Guwahati will likely involve discussions about Rishabh Pant's future as vice-captain, Jasprit Bumrah's workload, and Suryakumar Yadav's form.
Chennai Super Kings bowling coach Eric Simons said Mahendra Singh Dhoni alone will decide on his comeback, stressing that the veteran wicketkeeper-batter would only return if he feels fully fit and ready to contribute to the team.
Sanju Samson not batting enough at number five and six doesn't mean he can't do the job there, said India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Friday while expressing confidence in the Kerala dasher's ability ahead of the Asia Cup clash against Pakistan.
Rajasthan Royals monitoring Samson's side strain on daily basis: Rahul Dravid
Ravi Shastri believes Chennai Super Kings will learn from their defeat to Lucknow Super Giants and bounce back strongly in their remaining IPL matches to secure a playoff spot.
With Abhishek Sharma hospitalised with a stomach bug, Sanju Samson is set to get another opportunity at the top of the order.
Delhi Capitals await clarity on Mitchell Starc's return, with Venugopal Rao saying an update will come in a week after their loss to CSK.
'Found a ponnada in the appropriate India colours to honour him with!'
Struggling former champions Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will be eyeing consistency as they await the return of their former captains Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
'It will not happen that Dhoni is off the field and leaves someone like Sanju Samson to keep wickets.'
When the Indian team entered the ICC Cricket Academy Arena for their evening net session ahead of the Asia Cup, Samson was the first to start his solo keeping drills with fielding coach T Dilip, even as others were just about lumbering up.
Suryakumar Yadav's future as India's T20 captain is uncertain, with his place in the team as a batter under scrutiny. Gautam Gambhir's support as head coach could be decisive, despite concerns from the selection committee about Suryakumar's recent form and suitability for the 2028 Olympics.
A recap of the action of the second week of IPL 2026.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is yet to go past the 50-run mark in IPL 2026, with his best being a stratchy 28 against Punjab Kings in Chennai.
For Ian Smith, a player of Rishabh Pant's calibre walks into any T20 side and hence the former New Zealand stumper finds it baffling that the keeper-batter hasn't been picked for the upcoming World Cup starting in less than three weeks' time.
Sunrisers Huderabad's Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a golden duck by Rajasthan Royals' Jofra Archer on Monday, his 7th duck in T20s this year.
Saba Karim says Rishabh Pant's struggles stem from lacking a clear white-ball template, as his poor IPL form continues with LSG.
Sunil Gavaskar praises Abhishek Sharma's half-century against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup, highlighting his improved composure and learning from previous setbacks.
Samson had new batting batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and throwdown specialists for company.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the 2026 IPL season, achieving an unprecedented MVPI of 1071, significantly ahead of his closest competitor, Shubman Gill. His exceptional strike rate of 236 was a key factor in this achievement, making him only the third player in IPL history to surpass an MVPI of 1000 in a single season.
Abhishek, Hardik help India pulverise Zimbabwe by 72 runs; stay in semis race
Chennai Super Kings' head coach Stephen Fleming acknowledged that Ruturaj Gaikwad is still developing as captain, as the team's IPL playoff hopes were dented by a loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Sanju Samson was to play the T20 World Cup final.
Then, Skipper Rohit Sharma changed his mind.
In typical Rohit style, he then spent 10 minutes explaining to Sanju why he was being excluded from the playing eleven.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2026 after the league stage.
Sanju Samson's century, Punjab Kings' record 265 chase, Rinku Singh's Super Over heroics and standout knocks from KL Rahul, Abhishek Sharma and Virat Kohli headline an action-packed Week 4 of IPL 2026.
Ishan Kishan dedicated his match-winning innings against Chennai Super Kings to his cousin, who recently lost his sister, helping Sunrisers Hyderabad qualify for the IPL play-offs.
Five-time champions Chennai Super Kings were eliminated from the race for the IPL 2026 playoffs after suffering a humiliating 89-run defeat at the hands of Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
'Pant can give that differential variable that they are looking for in the batting order.'
Batting great Virat Kohli hailed the Indian team after they thumped New Zealand by 96 runs to become the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup title.
'There are 3-4 people who wasted 10 years of my son's vital career...captains like Dhoniji, Viratji, Rohitji and coach Dravidji.'
The likes of Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel would all like to get some decent hit out there in the middle ahead of Sunday's clash against Pakistan.
A preview of the key player battles that could determine the outcome of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 final between India and New Zealand, highlighting individual matchups and their potential impact on the game.
Samson tried to whip Donovan Ferreira down the ground but the ball hit umpire Rohan Pandit on the shin and he required medical assistance before he was able to continue.
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