Ex-Selector Srikkanth Drops Samson, Kuldeep from T20 WC XI; Picks Tilak Varma

• Former India selector Kris Srikkanth excluded Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav from his preferred playing XI for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
• Srikkanth replaced Samson with Tilak Varma and chose Ishan Kishan to open the innings, citing Kishan's strong performance against New Zealand.
• Samson scored only 46 runs at an average of 9.20 in the recent T20I series, while Kishan amassed 215 runs at 53.75 with a century.
• Srikkanth noted Samson's prolonged poor form, stating there's 'no comparison right now' between him and Kishan.
• Varun Chakaravarthy was picked as the lone specialist spinner, with Axar Patel as the all-rounder, excluding Kuldeep Yadav.

Why It Matters: Kris Srikkanth's T20 World Cup XI drops Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav, favoring Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma.