IND vs ENG: Sanju Samson on verge of surpassing MS Dhoni for massive T20I record during India vs England series

India opener Sanju Samson is on a verge of bettering MS Dhoni’s record during T20I series against England that starts on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This is the first bilateral series for India where the Men in Blue will play five T20Is and three ODIs before they fly out to Dubai to play the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. 

Following the retirement of Rohit Sharma last year from T20Is, Sanju Samson has cemented his place as one of the India’s first-choice openers in the shortest format of the game. As said, the Kerala batter delivered at the top level with two centuries against South Africa in his last series in national colours. 

As the Indian team prepare for another great year, Sanju Samson is just seven sixes shy of going past legendary MS Dhoni in the list of most sixes in T20Is for India. While MS Dhoni has hit 52 sixes in T20Is, Sanju Samson has hit 46 so far in the format.    

If Sanju Samson manages to break MS Dhoni’s record, he will be the 10th Indian batter to reach half-century of sixes in T20Is. Notably, this will be Sanju Samson’s first T20I match against England. 

Sanju Samson misses Vijay Hazare Trophy

Following the India vs South Africa T20I series last year, Sanju Samson played for Kerala in five Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches. Thereafter, the Rajasthan Royals skipper didn’t play a single game and also missed the entire Vijay Hazare Trophy for Kerala. 

Reports emerged in TOI that the BCCI wasn’t happy with Sanju Samson’s decision to skip the 50-over domestic tournament at a time when the Board made it mandatory for all the players to represent their states when not on national duty.