Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has backed Sanju Samson to play in place of Tilak Varma against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup 2026. Varma stepped down the track against Marco Jansen in the second over against South Africa and got an outside edge to wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock after scoring only one run. 

Varma has managed 107 runs in five matches of the World Cup at an average of 21.40 and a strike rate of 118.88. The left-hander wasn’t able to convert his starts into substantial scores in the group stage.

On the other hand, Sanju Samson scored a little cameo of 8-ball 22 against Namibia in Delhi. Before the World Cup, Samson had managed only 46 runs in five matches against New Zealand and thus was dropped from the team’s playing XI.

Badrinath said Samson will receive Chennai’s crowd backing as he will represent CSK in IPL 2026.

Subramaniam Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “Sanju Samson should come in for Tilak Varma. Let’s not forget, the Chennai crowd will get behind Sanju Samson (against Zimbabwe).”

Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma was dismissed after scoring 15 runs off 12 balls against South Africa after managing three ducks in the group stage. Badrinath said the left-hander still deserves his chance in the team’s playing XI.

“India’s top three has been failing for a while now. How are India going to tackle off-spin in the powerplay? It is the right time to bring in Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma still deserves a chance. Let him open with Ishan Kishan, and his style of play is such that India does need an X-factor player like him,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

India will next take on Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Thursday.