Sanju Samson is wasting no opportunity to continuously remind India head coach Gautam Gambhir that he deserves to open for India in Asia Cup 2025. The Kerala keeper-batter has seemingly lost his role at the top of the order to vice-captain Shubman Gill who is making his return to T20Is after a year. Samson, who is a part of Kochi Blue Tigers in Kerala Cricket League (KCL) has time and again proved with the bat as to why he doesn’t deserve to be demoted in the Asia Cup and rather should continue as an opener.
Samson’s red-hot form in KCL too good for India to ignore
Samson has managed to score half-centuries on all four occasions he has opened for Kochi in KCL 2025. Overall, he has amassed 355 runs at the top of the order in 4 innings and averages 88.75. It includes a century which came off just 42 deliveries before he finished with 121 runs to his name in that game. It is pertinent to point out that his only failure in the ongoing KCL came while he came out to bat at number 6 and managed to score just 13 runs off 22 deliveries.
Sanju has tasted most success in T20Is while opening the batting for India. He became the only Indian to score three centuries in the shortest format of the game in a calendar year – all of them coming while he was an opener. In 14 T20Is that he has played at the top of the order, he has amassed 512 runs at a strike rate of 182. 20 and averages 39.38.
Meanwhile, Gill has also played solely as an opener in the 21 T20is that he has featured in so far. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar even dropped a subtle hint that the Punjab batter will indeed open in Asia Cup 2025, going on to claim that Samson was playing at the top of the order only because Gill and Jaiswal were absent.
Samson’s form in KCL, coupled with his woes & inexperience while batting at number 5 or 6, should be factored in by India before taking a call on his batting position in Asia Cup. It would be best to have him open the innings, although that his highly unlikely to happen.
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