Why is Sanju Samson not playing the IND vs PAK clash in the T20 World Cup 2026?

The Indian Cricket Team are up against the Pakistan Cricket Team in match 27 of the T20 World Cup 2026. The match between the two teams is taking place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday.

Pakistan captain Salman Agha won the toss and opted to field first. While the Men in Green went ahead with the same combination, India made two changes to their XI for the IND vs PAK clash, which is their third game of the T20 World Cup 2026.

One of the changes that India made was of Sanju Samson. The keeper-batter played the last game and had a decent outing, taking India off to a flying start with his 22-run knock off just 8 balls. This included three sixes and one four. 

Why is Sanju Samson not playing the IND vs PAK clash in the T20 World Cup 2026?

Sanju Samson replaced Abhishek Sharma in the  Indian XI for the last game against Namibia. This was because the opening batter was ruled out of the match due to stomach issues, which also saw him being hospitalised.

But now Abhishek Sharma has regained his fitness and this means that Sanju Samson has to make way for Sharma. The left-hander played the opening game against the USA, but bagged a golden duck and now would be keen to make a strong comeback.

IND vs PAK playing 11

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha(c), Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Khan(w), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq