Shubman Gill's return to India's T20I side as a vice-captain to Suryakumar Yadav during the Asia Cup displaced Sanju Samson from the top of the batting order, despite solid performances as an opener.
Samson move down to the middle-order when Jitesh Sharma was present in the team, as a proven batter at 5-7 also raised questions on whether the experiment would work for the team.
However, the team backed Samson as a number 5 batter throughout the tournament and clinched the title with the help of his contribution in the final.
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Addressing the change in the batting order, captain Suryakumar Yadav reflects on how the management worked out the addition of Shubman Gill to the lineup.
Suryakumar Yadav on Sanju Samson's move to the middle order in T20Is
Samson's three T20I centuries have all come while batting as an opener alongside Abhishek Sharma in the past 15 months, after Rohit Sharma retired from the format.
His strike rate of 173.37 as an opener is also only second to Abhishek among Indians, which is why the fans and pundits felt it was unfair on the opener to be moved down the order to accommodate Gill at the top.
At the end of the competition, captain Yadav spoke to Vimal Kumar in an exclusive interview, clearing the air on the topic and revealing the backing Samson has from the leadership group and the management.
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"Everyone thought that Shubman and Jitesh are in the team, so they started playing Jenga with the playing XI. I never thought that Sanju wouldn't play. During the first practice session, I was standing behind the nets with Gauti bhai and he said, 'He [Sanju] has done so well in the last 15-20 games. We can only tell him that the batting number will change, the impact should remain the same.'"
"We explained it to him that he used to score 70 off 30 balls. Now you will play only 10 to 25 balls, or not bat in some matches but try to impact the games for the team whenever he bats."
He further explained the new culture within the team, where everyone other than the openers will not have a fixed position. He remarked that batters will have to make an impact in the matches according to the situation they come in to bat in, without emphasizing the number of runs they score.
How did Sanju Samson perform in the Asia Cup 2025?
Samson played a crucial 24-run knock in the final. He came to bat at 20/3 and stitched a 57-run partnership with Tilak Varma to rescue India in the 148-run chase.
He also scored a fifty against Oman during the group stage when he was promoted to number 3 in Abu Dhabi.
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| Opponent | Score | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 24(21) | Dubai (DICS) | Sept 28 |
| Sri Lanka | 39(23) | Dubai (DICS) | Sept 26 |
| Bangladesh | DNB | Dubai (DICS) | Sept 24 |
| Pakistan | 13(17) | Dubai (DICS) | Sept 21 |
| Oman | 56(45) | Abu Dhabi | Sept 19 |
| Pakistan | DNB | Dubai (DICS) | Sept 14 |
| UAE | DNB | Dubai (DICS) | Sept 10 |
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