hero-image

Sanju Samson vs Virat Kohli - comparing their stats after 38 T20Is

In recent times, Sanju Samson has emerged among India's top batters in the shortest format. He been in scintillating form, scoring three hundreds in his last six T20I innings for India.

In the first T20I against England in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22, Sanju Samson got to a decent start but failed to convert it into a big innings. He scored 26 runs off 20 deliveries with 4 fours and a six at a strike-rate of 130.

On the other hand, Virat Kohli, who retired from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup, is still India's second-highest run-getter in the format. Despite not being considered a player of the T20 format, his numbers and performances over the years highlight his importance for the Men in Blue in the shortest format as well.

Be it the knock against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup, or in the final of the 2024 edition, Kohli has played several unforgettable knocks in his T20I career.

Sanju Samson, who once struggled to keep his place in the team due to his incosistent performances, has made a remarkable resurgence in recent times. He has been destructive at the top with his power-hitting.

That said, let us compare the stats of the two players after their first 38 T20I innings for India.


Sanju Samson's numbers after 38 T20Is

Sanju Samson made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe during the second T20I in Harare in 2015. He batted at No. 7 and scored just 19 runs off 24 balls. However, it has taken several years for the wicketkeeper-batter to establish himself in the format as a regular member of the team.

Samson has played 38 matches in his T20I career so far. Out of these, he has batted in 34 innings and has scored 836 runs at an average of 27.86 and a strike-rate of 154.24. The right-hander has three hundreds and a couple of fifties to his name as well.

Sanju Samson smashed 111 runs off 74 balls against Bangladesh in Hyderabad in October 2024. This is also his highest individual score in the format so far. While he has an incredible strike-rate, his runs and average are lesser than what it could have been as he took a long time to become a consistent performer. He is now just two centuries away from joining Rohit Sharma as the batter with most T20I hundreds, not just for India, but overall as well.


Virat Kohli's numbers after 38 T20Is

Virat Kohli, who retired from T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup win, has played 125 matches in the format, scoring 4188 runs with an average of 48.69 and strike-rate of 137.04, including a hundred and 38 half-centuries.

He also made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in Harare, but in 2010. Kohli scored an unbeaten 26 as India won the game by six wickets. Looking at his first 38 matches (2010 - 2016), he scored 1368 runs at an impressive average of 52.61. While he had not scored a hundred during this period, Kohli slammed 13 fifties.

During this period, his highest score of an unbeaten 90 came against Australia in the second T20I in Adelaide in 2016. His knock came at a strike-rate of 163.63 and just 55 balls.

Kohli's numbers (the runs scored, strike-rate, and number of half-centuries) after his first 38 T20I innings reflect his consistent performance. Looking at the numbers from the first 38 T20Is of both Kohli and Samson, the former Indian skipper pips the current wicketkeeper-batter on runs and average, apart from Samson scoring more centuries.

You may also like