Sanju Samson came out to bat at No. 3 for Team India on Friday, September 19, in Abu Dhabi against Oman and scored 56 runs from 45 balls. During his stay at the crease, the wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from Kerala hammered 3 fours and as many sixes and also joined Virat Kohli in an elite list. Sanju Samson became the sixth Indian batter to cross the 50-run mark in an Asia Cup T20I ma
Sanju Samson made good use of much needed time in the middle as skipper Suryakumar Yadav decided to give every other playing member a hit in the centre, taking India to a healthy 188 for eight against Oman in their final Asia Cup league fixture on Friday.
With vice-captain Shubman Gill getting out cheaply, the one drop slot warranted a right hander and accordingly Sanju Samson (56 off 45 balls) got a chance to bat in the top 3. It wasn’t the smoothest of his innings on a slightly slowish track but three fours and three sixes off would certainly give him confidence ahead of the business week.
Reasons why Sanju Samson should play at No 3 for India
For those who have played leather-ball cricket or cricket at any level would realise that the job of the opener requires a specialist. Not everyone can play the new-swinging ball and hence it is a tad-bit unfair on Sanju Samson that he, being an opener, has to bat at No. 5. During the game against Pakistan, Sanju Samson scored 13 off 17 balls and looked a little clueless not knowing how to approach the situation. His 17-ball stay was laced with one boundary and finally he was clean bowled by Haris Rauf trying to play a big shot.
To make it trickier for Sanju Samson , he had to bat when the ball was old and the field spread. Is it time the Gautam Gambhir and the management take Sanju Samson seriously and him him a slot that suits his style of play With Tilak Varma adjusting well in the middle-order and finishing games – isn’t it the right choice to promote Sanju Samson at No. 3
If Sanju Samson has to play at No. 3, the rest just have to move down a spot in the batting order. If Sanju Samson bats at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav comes in at No. 4 and he could be followed by either Hardik Pandya or Tilak Varma and then you can have Shivam Dube and Axar Patel to follow. However Former Indian cricketer now commentator Aakash Chopra believes that in future too due to the growing competition at the top of the order for India, Sanju Samson should make truce with the No 5 position as a batter.
Aakash Chopra believes that Sanju Samson should make truce with No 5 spot in the Playing XI
Former opener Aakash Chopra believes that it’s almost impossible for Sanju Samson to return to the top three with Shubman Gill’s return as India’s vice-captain at the Asia Cup 2025. The cricketer-turned-analyst said Sanju Samson batted and scored a fifty while batting at No. 3 against Oman, but the original spot belongs to skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
He added that Sanju Samson wouldn’t even have batted at No. 5 if he hadn’t scored a half-century in the previous game. The statement came after Sanju Samson managed just 13 runs off 17 balls against the Men in Green. Aakash Chopra told ESPNcricinfo in the post-match show:
“No, he can’t be batting at three. Three is Suryakumar Yadav’s position. I think it was the day India announced the team with Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the side… With Shubman Gill’s bat and the position and the designation, you’ve written Sanju Samson’s destiny that he’s no longer your 1,2,3 batter where he’s likely to score most of the runs.”
He continued:
“He got to bat only because, let me just also say this, if he hadn’t scored the runs in the previous game, he wouldn’t have even batted at the number he batted today. Hardik Pandya would’ve come in place of him, and then Shivam Dube, and then Sanju Samson. That position is natural to him, and you’re playing against Pakistan. Of course, this time you were chasing run-a-ball, it was slightly higher.”
“I mean, say, 20 balls 35 runs, or 31 runs, then you would have sent, and then he would have sent Shivam Dube because those are the two guys who are likely to hit sixes against whoever Pakistan is going to throw at them. So, Sanju is not going to bat three. I mean, it may have happened against Oman, but that is the only time he was supposed to bat there,” Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra further urged the Indian team management and selectors to give Sanju Samson a longer rope in T20Is. The 48-year-old stressed that the wicketkeeper-batter delivers his best while playing in the top three positions, especially as an opener. He also advised Samson to gain the skills needed to become a finisher with all the top three spots locked.
The former cricketer said in the same video:
“(The wicketkeeper-batter has to be a middle-order player) That’s what it looks like in this team. I mean, see ideally, if you have Sanju in the team, and whenever you pick a team, you also need to make sure that you get the best out of everyone. So, Sanju Samson’s best position is as an opener.”
“The second best is at No. 3, and anything else is going to put him under immense pressure. And that’s not how this team was picked… So, Sanju’s destiny is unfortunately not… it requires a bit more patience, it requires a slightly longer rope, and [for] Sanju to also develop the skills to finish because that’s where he is required to bat,” he added.
Interestingly, Sanju Samson slammed three T20I tons as an opener in the last calendar year. The Kerala-born batter, however, flopped with the bat against England in five T20Is at home, managing 51 runs in five innings. As a result, India recalled Shubman Gill for T20Is after a year-long hiatus.
India take on Bangladesh in their next Asia Cup fixture on Thursday, while Pakistan look to bounce back in a meeting with Sri Lanka a day prior on Wednesday.