With Abhishek Sharma hospitalised with a stomach bug, Sanju Samson is set to get another opportunity at the top of the order.
Amidst strong speculation of him wanting to snap the ties with Rajasthan Royals, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson said his long association with the IPL franchise has transformed his life and career.
Earlier this week, it was reported that express pacer Mayank Yadav is set to miss the first half of the upcoming Indian Premier League.
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.
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.
Sunil Gavaskar praises Abhishek Sharma's half-century against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup, highlighting his improved composure and learning from previous setbacks.
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.
While Abhishek Sharma's explosive century stole the headlines, Samson's replacement by Dhruv Jurel raised questions about his availability.
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.
Abhishek, Hardik help India pulverise Zimbabwe by 72 runs; stay in semis race
'It will not happen that Dhoni is off the field and leaves someone like Sanju Samson to keep wickets.'
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.
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.
Rajasthan Royals monitoring Samson's side strain on daily basis: Rahul Dravid
Rajasthan Royals' openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi need just three runs to become the fastest pair in the history of IPL to reach 500 partnership runs in terms of balls taken.
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.
Mumbai cricketers stole the spotlight in a thrilling IPL 2026 match, as Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube shone for Chennai Super Kings, while Shreyas Iyer guided Punjab Kings to victory.
'Found a ponnada in the appropriate India colours to honour him with!'
Gautam Gambhir says individual milestones don't matter and urges focus on trophies after India's T20 World Cup triumph over New Zealand.
India faces Zimbabwe in a crucial T20 World Cup Super 8 match, needing a big win to improve their net run rate after a heavy loss to South Africa. The team needs to address issues in the top order and consider strategic changes to the batting lineup.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner acknowledged India's dominance in the World Cup final, citing their explosive start and the difficulty of chasing a large total in Indian conditions. He admitted New Zealand were underdogs and needed everything to go their way, but India's batting performance proved too strong.
India will face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. India aims to retain the title, while New Zealand seeks their first global white-ball crown. The match is set to be a thrilling contest between two strong teams.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle present Rediff's Most Valuable Player Index of IPL 2026 after Game 62.
Fans are so confident of India retaining the ICC World T20 title that that they would like March 8 (the day of the final) to be added to the list of special days in March as 'Indian cricket's double-triumph day'.
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.
Dewald Brevis discusses his return to competitive cricket after injury, his confidence boost from CSK's win over KKR, and his admiration for teammate Ayush Mhatre.
India face New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad as Suryakumar Yadav's side aim to become the first team to successfully defend the title.
Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that his excessive celebration after dismissing Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Challenger Trophy early in his career had annoyed the iconic former captain. Ashwin believed that dismissing Dhoni could give him a chance to play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
Is Abhishek Sharma struggling to cope with the expectations of playing in a World Cup in front of home fans?
Samson had new batting batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and throwdown specialists for company.
Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Anil Kumble believes fans may have already seen the last of M S Dhoni behind the stumps, hinting that the Chennai Super Kings icon may not don the gloves in IPL 2026.
CSK have not successfully chased a target of 190 or more since their memorable 2018 victory against RCB.
Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill carried forward his consistent run in away matches as he began a crucial IPL season after being dropped from the Indian team ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
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.
Kartik Sharma recorded his maiden IPL half-century with a measured knock saw Chennai Super Kings overhaul Mumbai Indians to keep their play-off hopes alive.
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.
Rajasthan Royals have suffered a major setback ahead of IPL 2026, with England all-rounder Sam Curran likely to miss the entire tournament due to a suspected groin injury.
'Pant can give that differential variable that they are looking for in the batting order.'
All-rounder Axar Patel was named vice-captain of the squad, which also saw the return of in-form Ishan Kishan, who pipped Jitesh Sharma as the second wicketkeeper behind Sanju Samson.
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