Without a shadow of a doubt, there has been intense competition for a place in the Indian team over the past few years. But in the current time, particularly in the T20 format, the battle for spots has become highly competitive. Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, one of the biggest talking points was the return of Ishan Kishan to the Indian side following a prolonged absence. Ishan earned his comeback after producing sensational performances in domestic cricket and franchise tournaments.

However, his return came at a cost, with Shubman Gill being left out of the squad. At the same time, Sanju Samson had found himself in trouble, struggling for rhythm and consistency. His performances in the initial matches failed to make a strong impact, leading to his exclusion from the playing XI during the middle phase of the tournament. In his absence, Ishan Kishan partnered with Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order to open the innings for the team. Recently, Samson made an honest reaction to the competition around him, admitting the challenge directly. Samson stated that Kishan’s outstanding performances in domestic cricket made him feel that the left-handed batter was strongly competing for his spot in the Indian side.

“Honestly, Ishan Kishan came into the squad out of nowhere. He had a great Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he won the championship for Jharkhand, and he has also had a great story, boss,” Samson said on the CSK podcast with Abhinav Mukund.

“We only look at ourselves, right? I think I have worked day in and day out, but lately I felt like Ishan had also done the same. After what happened to him for the last two years — he was out of the system — he worked so hard in domestic cricket and worked his way back. He had started scoring runs and I can admit it on camera that I could feel he was coming for my spot,” Samson added.

Sanju Samson also expressed that when Ishan had scored a sublime hundred against New Zealand just ahead of the T20I World Cup, he had made himself understand that Kishan was going to be the top pick to open the innings. 

“In Trivandrum, when he scored that hundred, I was like, ‘Sanju, now you just give it to him, boss. He deserves it more than you do. You got your chances, you didn’t score runs, but there is someone who is in tremendous form.’ He came out of the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, did everything right to reach there and then scored a century just before the World Cup started. So now I think, ‘Sanju, you just leave it,’” Samson said.