Sanju Samson (Getty Images)
New Delhi: Former Head Coach of India Ravi Shastri Has thrown his weight behind Sanju Samson as the future captain of India’s T20I team, saying the wicketkeeper-batsman has emerged as a “clear case” for the leadership following his spectacular rise over the past year.Samson, who starred in India’s victorious ICCT20 World Cup 2026 campaign and was adjudged player of the tournament, has now been tipped by Shastri as a serious contender to take charge of the national team in the shortest format in the next two to three years.Speaking on the ICC review, Shastri said India may have to plan for a leadership transition with the current captain ahead of the next T20 World Cup in 2028. Surya Kumar Yadav By then it will be 37.“India, at the next (T20) World Cup (in 2028), may be looking for a new captain, depending on how Surya fares in the next two years,” Shastri said.The former India all-rounder believes that Samson has strengthened his case because of his leadership experience already. Rajasthan Royals And his growing stature in India’s batting line-up.“But Sanju Samson has positioned himself for the leadership role as he has done that for Rajasthan in the past,” Shastri said. “And he’s a definitely, at the top of the order, extremely destructive. So as I see it, this is just the beginning of something that you’re going to see from Sanjo over the next two or three years.”Samson led Rajasthan Royals for five IPL seasons and guided them to the final in 2022, enhancing his reputation as a captain. But it is his recent transformation as a match-winner at the international level that has convinced Shastri.“But my word this season, the way he’s played since his performance in the T20 World Cup where he almost single-handedly won India games – big games, quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals – and the way he’s stepped up and the maturity he’s showing in the IPL now, that clarifies as far as I’m concerned the leadership in the future,” he said.Shastri also said that the 31-year-old Samson has finally put to rest lingering doubts about his consistency.“I think he has covered all those question marks. The potential was always there. People, in fact, will be disappointed because he will not do justice to that potential,” added Shastri.
