Sanju Samson (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has thrown his weight behind Sanju Samson as a future captain of India’s T20I side, saying the wicketkeeper-batter has emerged as a “clear case” for leadership after his stunning rise over the past year.Samson, who was one of India’s standout performers in their victorious ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign and was named Player of the Tournament, has now been tipped by Shastri as a serious contender to take charge of the national side in the shortest format within the next two to three years.Speaking on The ICC Review, Shastri said India may have to plan for a leadership transition before the next T20 World Cup in 2028, with current skipper Suryakumar Yadav set to be 37 by then.“India, come the next (T20) World Cup (in 2028), might be looking for a new captain, depending on how Surya goes over the next couple of years,” Shastri said.The former India all-rounder believes Samson has already strengthened his case because of his prior leadership experience with Rajasthan Royals and his growing stature in India’s batting line-up.“But Sanju Samson has put himself there for a leadership role because he’s done that in the past for Rajasthan,” Shastri said. “And he’s a certainty in the side, at the top of the order, extremely destructive. So I see him, this is just the start of something more you’ll see from Sanju over the next two or three years.”Samson led Rajasthan Royals for five IPL seasons and guided them to the final in 2022, enhancing his credentials as a captain. But it is his recent transformation as a match-winner on the international stage that has convinced Shastri.“But my word this season, the way he’s played after his performance in the T20 World Cup where single-handedly he almost won India games — the big games, the quarter-finals, semi-finals, the final — and the way he stepped up and the maturity he’s showing now in the IPL, makes him a clear case as far as I’m concerned for leadership in the future,” he said.Shastri also said 31-year-old Samson has finally silenced long-standing doubts around his consistency.“I think he has put a lid on all those question marks. There was always ability. People would, in fact, be disappointed because he wouldn’t do justice to that ability,” Shastri added.