Team India will arrive in Dubai in a few days from now. With the all-important Asia Cup looming, there’s still no certainty on who will don the wicket-keeping gloves for India at the tournament. With Rishabh Pant injured and Dhruv Jurel only among the standbys, the contest is between Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma. Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes Jitesh has edged ahead in the pecking order thanks to his impact and abilities while batting lower down the order.
Jitesh to pip Sanju Samson?
Jitesh, who played a pivotal role in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2025 title run, smashed 261 runs at a strike rate of 176 in the finisher’s role. Those numbers have made him a natural fit for India’s middle order, an area where Samson has struggled.
“I feel Jitesh Sharma will play in the XI. We shouldn’t think too much about positions one to three because he won’t get a chance there. However, his numbers at positions four to seven have become a lot better. He has a strike rate of 166 and an average of 28. He is the first batter whose strike rate is above 150. So when the pecking order is prepared, he will go right to the top,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
With Shubman Gill being the vice-captain, he is set to open the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma. The number three and four will rotate between Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Now, the best available option to bat for Samson remains number five, a position where he has batted just 15 times in T20s and averages a mere 12.00.
At the same time, India also have Hardik Pandya for the number five slot followed by Jitesh Sharma, who is a natural finisher. He has the capabilities to hit those 5-ball 20s, something Samson has not a speciality in.
Samson’s case at top of the order
While Chopra highlighted Samson’s dip in returns when pushed down the order, the Kerala batter has been in blistering form as an opener. In the ongoing Kerala Cricket League, Samson has reeled off four consecutive half-centuries for Kochi Blue Tigers, scoring 355 runs at an average of 88.75, including a 42-ball hundred. His only failure came when he batted at No. 6. He was battling fever too at the start of the KCL 2025.
“Sanju Samson is the first contender because he played the last series. He has struck three centuries in the last 12 matches. If we look at his numbers at positions one to three in all T20s, he has scored more than 6,000 runs at a strike rate of 140 and an average of 33,” Chopra noted. “But when I look at his numbers from four to seven, he has played 98 matches with an average of 20 and a strike rate of 126. Neither the strike rate nor the average looks very good there.”
The stats tell a clear story. Samson thrives at the top. In 14 T20Is as an opener, he has scored 512 runs at an average of 39.38 and a strike rate of 182.20, including three centuries in 2024 — a record for an Indian in a single year. Yet with Shubman Gill appointed vice-captain and almost certain to open, Samson may once again find himself squeezed into the middle order.
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