India, May 12 -- Amid the busy IPL 2026 season, with two teams already eliminated and the playoff race heating up, Sanju Samson, Chennai Super Kings' newest hero, opened up about the emotional fallout of losing his spot to Ishan Kishan in the Indian playing XI right before the T20 World Cup, and how he eventually made peace with it.

Samson became a last-minute inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad, alongside Ishan, after the selectors pulled the plug on their Shubman Gill plan. Having slipped out of contention for a place in the XI for almost three months before the World Cup announcement, Samson was given an opportunity after his return during the home series against New Zealand in January. But a string of low scores, while Ishan enjoyed...