Sanju Samson asked not to bat aggressively like Abhishek Sharma amid dip in form

India’s senior batter Ajinkya Rahane has given special advice for Sanju Samson as he mentioned that he is trying to mirror Abhishek Sharma’s aggressive approach. Samson has been struggling and was out for a duck leaving him with just 16 runs from three matches in 2026.

Samson’s dip in form has been very concerning ahead of the T20 World Cup, while Abhishek Sharma stole the spotlight with a dashing half-century as he reached the milestone in just 14 balls. The team dominant performance helped India clinch the series, but Samson’s form has gained a lot of attention as he just scored 104 runs in the last nine innings as an opener, averaging 11.55 with a strike rate of 133.33.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Rahane focused that team management and the captain Suryakumar Yadav need to back Sanju Samson and indicate that he remains as an opener in the team.

“That’s where I feel the team management’s role and the captain’s role will be crucial, telling Sanju Samson that you’re going to play all these matches and also in the World Cup as well. So don’t worry about your place. Sometimes what happens is when you have a guy like Abhishek Sharma at the other end who’s going really strong. Sanju Samson will have this pressure on himself as he’s basically trying to match Abhishek Sharma. The only thing for Sanjay Samson is sticking to his own game plan and backing himself,” said Rahane.

“What I saw about him in the T20 format in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well, he liked to play his game. My only thing is that the communication from the management is really important at this moment because Ishan Kishan is batting well. The team generally looks at the guy who’s doing well and performing well, who’s in that rhythm. So Sanju Samson is all about having that communication. Just give him the freedom. He’s a quality player. He’s a match winner. He just needs to back himself and then play his own game,” said Rahane.