Last Updated:
Sanju Samson, who has excelled as an opener in T20Is, has been demoted to no. 5 in the ongoing Asia Cup.
Sanju Samson has three T20I centuries as an opener. (PTI Photo)
Shubman Gill’s return in T20I setup has forced the Indian team to make changes in their batting order for the ongoing Asia Cup. Sanju Samson, who has been played as an opener in T20Is for nearly a year now, has been shunted down to No. 5 so that Gill can open alongside Abhishek Sharma.
Former India opener and World Cup winner Kris Srikkanth isn’t thrilled with the change and feels that Samson is just a couple of failures away from losing his spot in the playing XI.
Srikkanth feels that moving Samson down the order will also open up the door for Shreyas Iyer’s return.
“I would tell Sanju Samson, ‘Careful Sanju, this is probably a do-or-die chance for you. They might not include you if you do not score. If you underperform for a couple of games, Shreyas Iyer might come in,'” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“I think shifting Sanju down the order to No. 5 is probably making way for Shreyas. Not sure if I’m right or wrong. But, think about this, Sanju hasn’t played No. 5 in T20s. His confidence might take a hit batting at No. 5 and so I’m not too happy,” he added.
Samson has scored 522 of his 861 runs in T20Is, including all his three centuries, as an opener. He hasn’t found much success when batting lower though.
Srikkanth also wondered what role Samson has been assigned in the middle order since there are already two finishers – Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube – in the playing XI.
“They (India) are playing Sanju Samson in the middle-order. Are they going to use him as the finisher? No. That’ll be Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. So, Samson will play at 5. Will he deliver? That is a question,” said Srikkanth.
“Sanju Samson has been included ahead of Jitesh Sharma, which is fine for Asia Cup. But what happens at the T20 World Cup?” he added.
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
September 12, 2025, 08:39 IST
Read More
