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Sanju Samson had a spectacular year with the bat in T20I cricket last year. He scored one century against Bangladesh and two against South Africa. However, these scores came while he was opening the batting with Abhishek Sharma.
During the 2025 Asia Cup, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter has had to move down the order as Shubman Gill, India’s new T20I vice-captain, has returned to the setup. While Gill has joined Abhishek at the top of the order, Samson has found himself taking up a new role, batting in the middle.
India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that the team management is looking to have Samson play at No. 5. However, the former Netherlands all-rounder admitted that the 30-year-old will have to be given some time to adapt to the new batting position.
“Yeah, I think there’s two outings now, two decent chances and he’s still figuring out how to play that role. I think the wicket was a little bit tighter in the Pakistan game. But certainly with the way Shubman and Abhishek are going at the top and you’ve got your captain batting at three and the way Tilak played, we’re really looking for a No. 5,” ten Doeschate said during the pre-match presser ahead of India’s clash against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday, September 24.
“So we believe Sanju is the best man for that job and we’ve got no doubt that he’ll figure out how to play that role in the future,” he added.
In the ongoing Asia Cup, Samson has had only two opportunities with the willow. Against Oman, he was promoted up the order to No. 3. The Pulluvila-born spent a decent amount of time in the middle and finished with a score of 56 off 45 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes. Samson was nowhere near his fluent best.
Samson also had a chance to bat against Pakistan in India’s most recent fixture. Batting at No. 5, the right-handed batter could only manage 13 runs off 17 balls.
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