Badrinath: Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson should open next 10 T20Is; Sooryavanshi can wait

On September 17, 2026, former India batter S Badrinath said Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson should open for India in the next 10 T20 internationals during the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan, and that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can wait for his opportunity.

Samson returned to India's side for the series against Afghanistan, which has already seen strong performances at the top of the order, while teenage Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has not featured despite an impressive showing on the Zimbabwe tour. Badrinath urged the team management to settle on a combination and assess it over a sustained period rather than switching between players from one series to the next.

"Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson should open in the next 10 T20Is after this series. After that, if Sanju Samson fails, drop him and pick Sooryavanshi. They should follow this process instead of alternating between the two from one series to the next. I feel this has been unfair to Samson," Badrinath said on his YouTube channel, Cric it with Badri.

Abhishek continued to justify his place at the top by scoring 82 off 32 balls in the first T20I against Afghanistan, hitting seven sixes and seven fours as India chased down 157 with 38 balls to spare.

Samson made a strong response in the second T20I in New Delhi after scoring 10 in the series opener, producing a 22-ball 57 which was his first T20I half-century since the 2026 T20 World Cup and came at a strike rate of more than 250.

"Samson has performed well and is coming off a half-century. I feel he should get an extended run till the end of the year. He has scored two centuries and won India the World Cup. Though he hasn't delivered extraordinary performances like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, he was already there in the line. So why do you have to drop him to bring in another youngster? Give Sanju an extended run and then decide," Badrinath added.

Sooryavanshi, 15, did not play in either of the first two T20Is against Afghanistan; on the Zimbabwe tour he scored 151 runs at a strike rate of 196.10 and was named Player of the Series, and India have already claimed the current series 2-0.

India will look to complete a whitewash when the third and final T20I takes place on Thursday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.