Sanju Samson reaches 1,000 T20I runs as opener, joins elite Indian list

Sanju Samson completed 1,000 runs in T20Is as an opener during his 57 off 22 balls against Afghanistan on Tuesday. He became only the fifth Indian to reach the milestone, joining Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Abhishek Sharma.

Samson scored his runs at a strike rate of 181.59, the highest among the five openers on the list. Rohit Sharma leads the list with 3,750 runs in 125 matches as an opener.

Samson reached his fourth T20I fifty of 2026 in just 20 balls during the innings that helped India chase down 160 with seven wickets in hand.