Rashid Latif Amazed by Sanju Samson’s 89 vs England in T20 World Cup Semi-Final

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif reacted to Sanju Samson’s 89 against England during the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final.

Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif praised Sanju Samson for his batting in the T20 World Cup 2026. Latif described Samson as one of the tournament’s most impressive players. Samson scored 89 from 42 balls in the semi-final against England at Wankhede Stadium on March 5. England’s Jacob Bethell hit 105 during the chase, but India secured a 7-run win. The win sent India into the final.

Samson also played a key innings earlier in the tournament. He had scored 97* against West Indies in the Super Eight stage. Latif highlighted Samson’s ability to dominate both pace and spin bowling. He also praised Samson’s calm approach behind the stumps during matches.

“Sanju Samson jis tarah se batting kia hai, aisa laga jaise computer batting kar raha tha. (The way Sanju Samson batted, it felt like a computer was batting). What spinner or what pacers. He got the momentum so fast especially after getting dropped by Harry Brook. and then he does the wicketkeeping in the match silently. We did not even get to know,” said Latif on the show Haarna Mana Hai.

“He is a fantastic composed player and the way he carried on the momentum in both the matches (against West Indies and England), in my eyes, Sanju Samson should be the player of the tournament. The way he has played cricket, we all have been astonished. And the credit goes to the Indian team management that they trusted him even after his loss of form. And Sanju Samson has delivered with a punch,” he added.

Ahmed Shehzad Praises India’s Aggressive Batting Approach

Former Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad then analysed India’s batting approach in the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final against England. He noted how Indian batters attacked throughout the innings to push the score beyond 250. India eventually posted 253 for 7.

“It was a very close match. Any team could have won it. I guess India benefits from the kind of infrastructure they have built. IPL and all prepare the players for such stages. It has benefitted them a lot. They way their players absorb pressure, it helps them to get past the crush moments. They were clear that on that kind of pitch, they had to get past 250 runs. Sanju Samson was phenomenal but then the batsman who came at the later stage also played like that,” said Shehzad.

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“The kind of shots Tilak Verma played against jofra Archer were phenomenal too. Tilak knows that two fielders are up and Jofra Archer will bowl a Yorker at the wicket and Tilak pre-mediated his shot and made the yorker a full toss with going back and hitting the six. The second six he hit, it came as he knew that Jofra Archer would bowl a slow one or a short one and he hit the six. If it was Pakistan, we would have finished on 225 and would have put the onus on our bowling. But the Indian batsman knew that on that pitch, they needed to get past 250. And that’s what won them the semi-final,” he concluded.