Overview
- Sanju Samson said he is ready to play wherever required, confirming a shift from a regular opening role to the middle order under the current setup.
- The first T20I in Canberra ended in no result at 97/1 after 9.4 overs, with Shubman Gill unbeaten on 37 and captain Suryakumar Yadav on 39 in a 62-run stand.
- Kris Srikkanth criticised the team’s rotation of Samson, arguing frequent changes hurt rhythm, even as he described Samson as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
- India’s selection leaned into batting depth with Harshit Rana picked over Arshdeep Singh and a spin-heavy attack, a balance analysts link to Gautam Gambhir’s philosophy of batting contributions down to No. 8.
- Attention turns to the MCG on October 31, with pundits calling Suryakumar’s Canberra knock a confidence boost and discussing conditions-based selection calls such as a potential opening for Arshdeep.