Sanju Samson likely to return to playing XI for upcoming IND vs SA 3rd T20I

The joy after winning the 1st T20I of the series short-lived, as Team India lost the 2nd match against South Africa (IND vs SA 2nd T20I). South Africa won the second game in New Chandigarh by 51 runs. After the defeat, the Indian team management can consider some changes in their playing XI.

It is reported that for the third India vs South Africa T20I (IND vs SA 3rd T20I) match, Sanju Samson can be included in the playing combination. In the previous two matches, the Indian batting order mostly underperformed. In the first match, it was Hardik Pandya who appeared as the lone performer with the bat, and in the second, Tilak Varma emerged as the only hope while the Men in Blue were chasing a target of 214 in the second innings.

The top order of the team flopped in both of the matches, as Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav lost their wickets cheaply. In the middle order, Shivam Dube's form was not enough to provide some support.

Sanju Samson likely to play India vs South Africa 3rd T20I

For which batting position can Samson be considered in the playing XI of India? Under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir, there have been a lot of experiments regarding the batting order. Samson, who is an established top-order batsman, had to perform as a middle-order batsman during the Asia Cup 2025. But went in the middle as the number 3 batter during the Australia vs India, 2nd T20I at Melbourne.

In 2025, the keeper-batter performed brilliantly in domestic tournaments but not consistently for India in the Twenty20 format. This year, he participated in 14 T20s and got only one half-century, which came against Oman. It will be interesting to see for which role Samson can be considered for his next international assignment.