Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 29 (ANI): Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said that Sanju Samson will blame himself for not being able to perform ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 after the batter suffered another batting failure in the fourth T20I of the ongoing India vs New Zealand T20I series. Chahal, speaking on JioStar also noted that pressure should not be an excuse for someone with Samson's experience.

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson once again failed to make an impact, getting out for 24 runs in the fourth T20I against New Zealand on Wednesday, at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Although he started positively, Samson was dismissed by Mitchell Santner after scoring 24 runs off 15 balls. In his last five T20I innings, Samson's highest score is 37, which came against South Africa in December last year.

With just 40 runs across his last four outings in the New Zealand series and Ishan Kishan delivering strong performances at No. 3, Samson's place in India's T20 World Cup squad is now under scrutiny.

Speaking on JioStar, Chahal said Sanju Samson's repeated failures can't be attributed to pressure, given his vast experience. He felt four chances were enough to prove himself and pointed out that Ishan Kishan is performing well and waiting in the wings. Chahal said while Samson will hold himself responsible, there's no need to panic with the T20 World Cup still some distance away.

'Sanju Samson has played for many years. He started in the IPL middle-order, then became an opener. After playing international cricket for 10-12 years, pressure shouldn't be an excuse. He has had four chances in this series. I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four. He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at number three, is waiting. Sanju will blame himself. He had four opportunities but could not make them count,' Chahal said on JioStar.

'However, there's no need to feel too bad because the T20 World Cup is still far. There's one more match against New Zealand. It now depends on the team management's thinking. If they feel Sanju is struggling as an opener and Ishan is doing well at number three, then the right call would be to make Sanju sit out and let Ishan Kishan take his spot as the opener and wicketkeeper in the final T20I,' Chahal added.

Ishan Kishan missed out on the fourth India vs New Zealand T20I on Wednesday because of a niggle, and it remains to be seen whether he will return to the playing 11 for the fifth match of the series, potentially at the expense of Sanju Samson. The fifth and final T20I of the series will take place on January 31 at Thiruvananthapuram. (ANI)