Sanju Samson To Have New Batting Spot? India Star Makes Big Change Ahead Of Asia Cup

Indian cricket team wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson came out to bat at No. 5 while playing for Kochi Blue Tigers in the Kerala Cricket League. There has been a lot of chatter surrounding Samson's batting position in Asia Cup 2025 with Shubman Gill getting appointed vice-captain. As a result, this move sparked interest among fans who thought that this can be the new position for Samson. Samson gave up his preferred batting position to Vinoop Manoharan and Jobin Joby and put himself in the middle order. When it comes to the Asia Cup squad, Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav are expected to bat at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. With Abhishek Sharma almost guaranteed of being one of the openers, the second spot is heavily contested with Gill making his case with a stunning show in England.

Meanwhile, former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that right-hander batter Sanju Samson's chances in the playing XI are in "a bit of danger" after the inclusion of Shubman Gill in the team for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 from next month.

Team India for the Asia Cup 2025 was unveiled on Tuesday, with skipper Suryakumar leading the squad and Shubman Gill as his deputy, with several major names missing out. The squad was announced during a press conference attended by T20I skipper Suryakumar and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, which was held after a selection meeting which also featured the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devajit Saikia.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, 'Ash ki Baat', Ashwin said, "What will make me even more sad is that there are high chances that you have announced him as the vice-captain, so Sanju Samson's place is in a bit of danger. The matter is sealed. Sanju is not going to play because Shubman Gill will play. If you want to play Gill, you have to play him at three, and Sanju will open the batting, but that too is not going to happen."

Samson also delivered solid returns and found a new lease of life as an opener for the Indian side alongside Abhishek. Since the last T20 WC, in 31 T20s and 30 innings, he has scored 908 runs at an average of 33.62, with a strike rate of 157.09, with three centuries and three fifties.

India squad for Asia Cup T20: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Stand-bys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Sanju Samson Shubman Gill Asia Cup 2025 Cricket