Samson could get another chance if Abhishek misses out against Namibia

Who replaces Abhishek Sharma in India's XI against Namibia, if he hasn't regained full fitness after being hospitalised for a stomach bug and then discharged on Wednesday?

Sanju Samson is likely to be the first choice as the reserve specialist opener, but a left-field option could be the allrounder Washington Sundar, who resumed training with the Indian squad on Tuesday after recovering from a rib injury.

Judging by India's training sessions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi over the last two days, Samson appears set to fill in. He had long net sessions, especially on Wednesday when he faced Jasprit Bumrah, who has also recovered from the illness that sidelined him immediately after the bilateral series against New Zealand ended on January 31.

Those who kept a close eye on Samson included India head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. In 2024, when he made another comeback to the India squad, Samson had been given assurance by Suryakumar that the team management backed him as an opener. He repaid that faith by blasting the third-fastest T20I century for India, against Bangladesh, off 40 balls in October that year.

Since the start of 2025, however, Samson has been in miserable form: 268 runs in 16 T20I innings, average 16.75, strike rate 128. 22. Those numbers forced a rethink and Ishan Kishan took Samson's spot at the top of the order just before the T20 World Cup.

On Tuesday, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had said India still had hope in Samson and wanted him in the right mindset in case an opportunity came up during the tournament. "Look, at this level, you need to be honest and transparent," he said. "And the way the cards have fallen, Sanju's had all the support that he could possibly have had. He went through that phase where we tried him in the middle order, and then he obviously had the reprieve where he came back.

"And unfortunately with the high level of cricket that these guys play, when someone like Ishan comes in and has a series like he has, it's pretty obvious what the selection is going to be for that first game. But we also understand that there's probably five or six more games that you have to win, and all 15 members are vitally crucial to our ambitions.

"And now it's just getting Sanju feeling well within himself again, understanding where he fits into the scheme of things now: A, as an injury replacement, B, as a form replacement. You're not going to have any hassles with Sanju - solid guy, he's good around the group, he's training well, he's a good vibe around the group, and that's what we expect from everyone in the team."

It is not yet certain that Abhishek will miss the game against Namibia. He was out for a first-ball duck against USA on Saturday and didn't field during the second innings. On Tuesday evening, it emerged that he had been hospitalised for a stomach bug. Speaking on Wednesday, India batter Tilak Varma said he had been discharged. "When we reached Delhi, he went to hospital for an examination," Tilak said. "He has been discharged today and he is doing well. We have got one more day for the game so hopefully we will decide by tomorrow how he feels and we'll go with it."

Tilak also spoke of his role at No.3, a position he wanted from Suryakumar and got a couple of years ago. "Playing World Cup involves high-expectation, high pressure matches," Tilak said. "We have spoken internally that at three and four myself and Surya bhai have done well. We take singles nicely, finding gaps in the middle overs. Others we know, Abhishek, Ishan and Sanju bhai hit sixes and we obviously know the powerful batsmen in the lower order. That's why I feel teams that will play good between overs six and 16, they will win in this tournament. We have spoken in the team we will take the responsibility and manage the pressure situation to make things easy for the finishers."

India, under Suryakumar and Gambhir, have stressed that apart from the openers, the rest of the batting line-up will be flexible. However, in the recent past, that policy has more often than not included Nos. 3 and 4, where Tilak and Suryakumar bat

"I always say middle overs are very important where you need a settled batsman. I always think that if I can take the game deep because I like finishing and winning the game, especially when we are chasing. Also, we are not short of powerhitters, we can bat till No. 8. So it is important for one batsman to play the anchor role in the middle."