India and New Zealand will face each other today in the fourth T20I in Visakhapatnam. With the series already sealed, it is time for India to fine-tune their combination ahead of the T20 World Cup. With only two matches left before the mega event, the men in blue will be eager to finalise their combination and that presents a big question for them: Should Ishan Kishan open the innings with Abhishek Sharma instead of Sanju Samson today?
All the recent developments point to Kishan being allowed to do so in the last two matches against New Zealand. Samson's returns in the last three T20Is have been extremely poor as he has scored only 16 runs so far. On the contrary, Kishan has been in full flow batting at number three. He has amassed 112 runs in three matches at an unreal strike rate of 224.
On his comeback, the southpaw got out for just eight runs, but he returned with a 76-run knock in the second game off just 32 balls and then followed it up with a 13-ball 28. Kishan is naturally an opening batter, but even he has not opened the innings for India since November 2023. He must get a feel of the position at the top of the order before the World Cup and more so, when Samson hasn't been able to contribute at all.
Who should open with Abhishek Sharma in the T20 World Cup?
Ishan Kishan was picked in the T20 World Cup squad as the backup opener and made it to the playing XI as Tilak Varma was not available. However, his form is making it hard for the management to ignore him even after Tilak returns to the line-up. Only one of Samson and Kishan will make it to the playing XI in the World Cup and the latter must get a chance to open the innings before the mega event.
Samson's position is not under threat as of yet, but he has been finding ways to get out. Also, while opening the innings, it has either been a boom or a bust for him. He has smashed three centuries, but has also registered a lot of single-digit scores as an opener in the shortest format of the game. Moreover, in the last nine innings as an opener, Samson has got out in single digits five times and crossed the 20-run only twice with not a single fifty-plus score.
Sanju Samson's scores as opener since January 2025
| Runs | Balls | Opposition |
| 26 | 20 | England |
| 5 | 7 | England |
| 3 | 6 | England |
| 1 | 3 | England |
| 16 | 7 | England |
| 37 | 22 | South Africa |
| 10 | 7 | New Zealand |
| 6 | 5 | New Zealand |
| 0 | 1 | New Zealand |
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