Samson experiment, reliance on all-rounders challenge?

The final countdown to the high octane India vs Pakistan clash has begun, with the arch-rivals set to lock horns at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav and co. hold an advantage against Salman Ali Agha’s men, not just because they defeated them in their last T20I outing in the World Cup in 2024, but because they are a better side on paper as well. The last time the two sides met on this soil was during the Champions Trophy 2025, which was a 50-over format, and that did not go in Pakistan’s favour.

Lack of experience against India

Pakistan have a lack of experience facing India in T20Is. Among the pure batters, none apart from Fakhar Zaman have faced the Men in Blue in T20Is. Nawaz, Haris, Farhan and Ayub have never encountered the Indians in the shortest format of the game, making it a bigger challenge for Pakistan. Out of the five all-rounders, only Mohammad Nawaz has faced India in the past where he has managed to get six wickets from 3 games, all of them way back in 2022. It is pertinent to point out that captain Salman Agha has never squared off against India in a T20I in the past.

Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf are the only Pakistan bowlers who have faced India in T20Is in the past, but have had limited success. The disadvantage could be on Pakistan side as none apart from ‘best spinner in the world’ – Nawaz’ – have any experience of playing against India, and in particular the new looking side. Besides, Shaheen and Rauf will not have forgotten the treatment received at the hands of Vira Kohli and co. in 2022.

The Sanju Samson experiment

India are tryig a new experiment- to play Sanju at 5 or 6 while Shumban opened the innings with Abhishek. This might have worked in the previous contest as they managed chase down the target within 5 overs, without the Kerala batter having to bat. However, he has very little experience of batting down the order and perhaps not even fit in the line-up if asked to do so.

Now, in majority of T20Is that he has been a part of, Samson has played as an opener. In 14 T20Is that he has played at the top of the order, he has amassed 512 runs at a strike rate of 182. 20 and averages 39.38.

Over-reliance on all-rounders

India included three full-time all-rounders in their line-up in the clash against UAE – in the form of Hardik, Shivam and Axar. While this was wholly focused on their bowling, the same formula might not work against Pakistan. Now, since the surface in the game against Pakistan is bound to help the spinners, India might want to rethink their strategy in terms of having 3 pacers in the line-up. In terms of batting too, India might want to think twice about their XI, especially with the inclusion of Dube. They could rather accommodate a part-time spinner and an all-rounder in the form of Rinku Singh. However, the team is unlikely to make any changes.

IND vs PAK squads

India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Pakistan: Salman Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim