Sanju Samson, as an opener for India, has proven his mettle. He has scored three tons batting in the number and has adhered to the modern Indian T20 philosophy of keep going right from ball. Samson, along with Abhishek Sharma, have managed to form a formidabble partnership up at the top and as a result India has not lost a single bilateral series since winning the T20 World Cup in 2024. However, coming into the Asia Cup, things have slightly changed. Shubman Gill, who was named the skipper of the Indian Test side, had a purple patch and lead India well in the five-match Test series against England and selectors have called back Gill back into the side and made him vice-captain.
The conundrum for India, with Gill likely to open the batting, is where Samson will bat. “There is a question mark over Sanju Samson’s place in the team. As far as I am concerned, he should be in the playing XI. Where should he bat in the XI? Playing him at number five or six or as a finisher won’t work. Sanju Samson should play in the top three. If he plays in the top three, straight away, he would seal the innings for India. He can hit the ball well when it comes onto the bat. It could serve the team well if he plays in the top three,” WV Raman said on his YouTube channel.
“That leaves us with a few other spots, for which the likes of Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh are in contention. Who, among them, should play? Where should they play? This is a headache for Gautam Gambhir and the management. However, these are good headaches to have for the management. If you look at it, there are no gaps in this team. What I mean by that is that regardless of conditions, they can adapt to that and pick a XI for those conditions. That XI can also perform in those conditions,” Raman said.
Raman speaking on Shubman Gill said, “Shubman Gill has returned as the vice-captain of the team. I feel the reason behind his recall is a long-term plan. I feel there is a plan to look at him as an all-format captain. He did well in Test cricket in England. Not many expected those types of performances, but both in his batting and captaincy, he did well. He could open the batting here. There is Abhishek Sharma with him. He’s a phenomenal T20 player as well.”
