Shastri endorses Samson to succeed Yadav as T20I captain

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has endorsed Sanju Samson as a leading candidate to succeed Suryakumar Yadav as the national team's T20I captain ahead of the 2028 World Cup.

Shastri, speaking on The ICC Review, highlighted Samson's leadership experience with Rajasthan Royals, where he captained for five seasons, including a runner-up finish in the 2022 Indian Premier League. "India, come the next T20 World Cup in 2028, might be looking for a new captain, depending on how Surya goes over the next couple of years," Shastri said. "But Sanju Samson has put himself there for a leadership role because he's done that in the past for Rajasthan Royals. And he's a certainty in the side, at the top of the order, extremely destructive. So, I see him, this is just the start of something more, you'll see from Sanju over the next two or three years."

Samson earned Player of the Tournament honors at the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, where Yadav led India to a record third title on home soil two months ago. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 321 runs across five innings at a strike rate of 199.37, including three successive half-centuries in crucial matches: a 97 against West Indies in the...