Sanju Samson a fusion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, says Anil Kumble after T20 World Cup masterclass

NEW DELHI: India’s decision to promote Sanju Samson to the top of the order midway through the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has been vindicated in spectacular fashion, with the Kerala batter authoring one of the competition’s greatest late-tournament surges and compelling Anil Kumble to liken him to a composite of modern legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Having spent the opening phase watching from the sidelines, Samson was handed the new-ball responsibility ahead of India’s Super 8 showdown against the West Indies in Kolkata. What followed was a sequence that turned the campaign on its head: an undefeated 97 in a virtual knockout, followed by successive scores of 89 in both the semi-final and the final as India sealed their second T20 world title.

The right-hander’s 321 runs from five innings set a new benchmark for an Indian in a single edition of the tournament, while his 97 not out in the final remains the highest individual score ever registered in a T20 World Cup title clash. By becoming only the second Indian after Kohli to register half-centuries in the semi-final and final of the same World Cup, Samson placed himself in rarefied company.

Yet for Kumble, the raw numbers capture only half the narrative. “If you look at the previous World Cup in 2024, it had Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both are great players, very difficult to replace them,” the former India captain told ESPNcricinfo. “I think Samson is a combination of Kohli and Rohit, in a sense.”

The spin great elaborated that Samson toggled between Kohli’s calculated accumulation and Rohit’s power-packed assault with seamless precision. “When it required a little bit of Kohli, where you just plan and ensure that you don’t lose wickets,” Kumble noted, “and then whenever you need to accelerate in the powerplay, you want to take on the bowlers — like Rohit.”

Even while shepherding the innings, Samson refused to blunt his natural aggression. India became the first side to clear the rope 100 times in a single World Cup edition; Samson’s 24 sixes topped the tournament chart and underlined a fearless approach that married flair with responsibility.