Former India’s head coach Ravi Shastri has encouraged Sanju Samson to continue opening alongside youngster Abhishek Sharma, while pressing team management to move Shubman Gill to another spot in the top order. The Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to begin on September 9, with India taking on the hosts, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on September 10.
Gill has been named India’s vice-captain for the competition, therefore his place in the playing XI is very likely.
Despite scoring three hundreds last season, the wicketkeeper-batsman’s position in the top order remains questionable. The discussion about India’s opening combination heated up as chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar clarified that Samson was only employed as a makeshift opener in India’s last three T20I series against England, South Africa, and Bangladesh.
“He [Samson] is most dangerous in the top three. That’s where he wins you matches. He should be left there. It [replacing Samson for Gill] won’t be that easy. Samson has a strong record for India at the top in T20s. Even Gill will find it tough to displace him. Gill may come in for someone else, but Samson should be left alone as opener,” Shastri said to the media as quoted by The Indian Express.
Samson has previously featured as an opener, but it was only during the home series against Bangladesh last year that he was given an extended run in the role. He made the most of the opportunity, smashing three centuries and becoming the first player to record three T20I hundreds in a calendar year.
Samson also boasts a strike rate of 178.76, the second-highest among Indian openers, only behind teammate Abhishek. In total, he has scored 522 runs in 17 innings as an opener. In contrast, Gill has accumulated 578 runs in 21 T20I innings for India, but with a strike rate below 140 and an average of 30.42.
“Samson should continue playing the way he has for India in T20s. He has been consistent at the top with big runs and hundreds,” Shastri concluded.
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