Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma under scanner ahead of second T20I

With Vaibhav Sooryavanshi breathing down his neck, Sanju Samson will be under pressure to turn the frequent busts in his performance graph into consistent booms as India take on England in the second T20 International on Saturday.

The first game was abandoned after India posted a healthy 189 for 7 at Chester-le-Street in Durham, riding on half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and skipper Shreyas Iyer.

However, the focus of attention during the next few games would be Sanju Samson and whether he can weather the Sooryavanshi storm that is building up on the sidelines.

In an alternate universe, three back-to-back match-winning knocks in India’s T20 World Cup triumph would have given Kerala’s most ‘globally followed’ sporting icon a cushion for a year. But with Indian cricket discovering the generational talent of Sooryavanshi, Samson’s margin for error has become minimal and the T20 World Cup halo alone can’t save him.

With Abhishek Sharma smashing his way to 49 and 59 in two of the last three games, the pressure is entirely on Samson to get some runs under his belt.

In the opening game that was washed out, Samson looked miserable scoring a single run off seven balls and not for once did it seem that he is trying to take the high-risk high-reward route.

The technical flaws in Samson’s game don’t inspire a lot of confidence when he plays on seaming tracks. Ireland’s unheralded Jai Moondra, who actually hails from Rajasthan’s Tonk, had exposed his frailties during successive games with deliveries that moved off the surface. In case of Samson, the occasional high scores have always been flanked by a series of low returns on either side and that has been his biggest bane.

While the team management is firm on not pushing the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi but he possibly can’t be kept cooling his heels if this continues for another couple of games.

However, it is not just Samson who is struggling in this batting order. The highly-talented Tilak Varma’s held-back approach in the middle overs is also an issue.

Varma simply seems incapable of pushing the scoring rate once slow bowlers come into operation or seamers take pace off their deliveries.

In 12 T20I games in 2026, Varma has been able to hit only 12 sixes — which is one per game. And that statistic is poor for anyone who is seen as a finisher.

The bowling department is unlikely to feature any changes as Old Trafford track offers some grip and wrist spinners have had a good time at the venue.

Incidentally, the best figures in any T20I at Old Trafford is held by India’s Kuldeep Yadav, who isn’t a part of this squad.

For England, the power-packed batting line-up led by skipper Harry Brook and the dynamic duo of Phil Salt and Tom Banton can take the Indian attack on.

But once again, the intrigue surrounds Sooryavanshi. To Play or Not To Play remains the lingering question.