Sanju Samson's T20 batting has shifted into a much faster gear

Sanju Samson's 82 off 41 balls against West Indies on 9 October helped India to 249 for five. It is the kind of innings that has fans calling him one of India's most underrated six-hitters, and the speed of his scoring over two years gives that view real backing. Across all men's T20 cricket from October 2024 to October 2026, Samson has a strike rate of 159.6, against 130.1 for top-seven batters.

That pace marks a change in the batter himself. His career strike rate since 2013 is 142.9, so the Samson of the last two years attacks far harder than the one who first came through. Four of his eight T20 hundreds have come in that recent stretch.

Where our ratings place Sanju Samson

Our ratings rank him 15th of 50 men's T20 batters across every side, worth about 4 runs a match more than an average player. That is a batter held in high regard, though still short of the very top tier.

The extra speed has not come at the expense of runs, either. His average over the last two years is 32.96, against 23.54 for top-seven batters, which means the faster tempo has cost him very little in output.

Why his recent innings for India look so thin

The doubts come from a run of short stays. His last ten innings for India include 0 off one ball against Ireland, 1 off seven balls against England and 2 off four against Pakistan. Even the big innings against West Indies was followed by 3 off six balls in the next match.

Seven of those ten innings ended in single figures, and that is what sticks when people weigh up his summer. A strike rate built over two years is easy to forget beside a fresh failure on television, so his reputation lags behind his record.

What the faster Samson means for India

How many of his runs come in sixes is a separate count; what stands beyond doubt is that his tempo has changed. Paradoxically, the cheap dismissals that cost him credit are partly the price of attacking from ball one, the same approach that produced 82 off 41. India should accept that trade-off and keep him at the top of the order to play this way. The faster gear is now the real Samson, and the task ahead is staying in long enough to use it.