Asia Cup: Sanju Samson finds himself at a crossroads, again

NEW DELHI: Sanju Samson’s place in the Indian side is forever up for debate. For all the talent and promise, he has not been able to cement his place in India’s playing XI in any format. It’s been a decade since he made his international debut.

Since then, there have been four selection committees in place but they have neither moved on from Samson nor been able to make him a guaranteed starter.

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Going by the T20I team picked for next month’s Asia Cup in UAE, Samson has been relegated to backup opener to Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma. Or, he has to move down the order to finish the innings for India. This has come after it appeared that he had settled down as an opener after scoring three T20I hundreds in the last three series India played.India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar put out a blunt explanation after reading out the squad on Tuesday. “Sanju was playing because Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were busy with Test cricket,” Agarkar said. Abhishek’s meteoric rise as a powerful T20 opener kept Jaiswal out of the main squad of 15.

If this is the approach of the selectors and team management, Samson’s career is at a crossroads again. India play 15 T20Is between the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup at home in Feb-March.

It’s a long time in Indian cricket, yet Tuesday’s development could be significant for Samson. He has managed to score at an average of only 18.83 and a strike-rate of 124.17 as a middle-order batter in 25 T20Is. Those numbers shoot up to an average of 32.2 and strike rate of 178.76 as an opener in 17 matches.

In the middle order, Jitesh Sharma could give Samson tough competition.The word in Indian cricket circles is that the selectors and team management have been prodding a few wicketkeepers to bat lower down the order in T20 cricket, which explains why KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were eager to bat down the order in the IPL, even against popular opinion.

Perhaps Gill’s resumption as India’s T20 opener was always a no-brainer for selectors.

TOI understands there has been an emphasis on adding power and solidity in the middle and lower-middle order. India losing steam at the back end of the innings has been an underlying concern. This move also suggests that the door has been left open for Pant. The selectors have maintained that they wanted to retain as much of the T20 World Cup-winning side as possible.Samson has always generated hype. That he is an eye-catching batter is beyond debate. Yet, he has mostly figured in second-string Indian teams. He made it to the T20 World Cup in 2024 but returned without playing a game. He has been part of teams run by three head coaches, Ravi Shastri, Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir. Each had a distinct outlook towards the game. Gambhir has been vocal about Samson’s inclusion but as he boards the flight to Dubai in the first week of Sept, the Kerala cricketer will be unaware of his position and role in the team.Devang Gandhi, who was the selector when Samson played his first series in Jan 2020 after his debut in 2015, said, “You can’t ignore the talent Samson has. But he is already close to 31. If he couldn’t seal his place, it’s because he could never be consistent, even in the IPL. There are obvious issues with him playing the heavy ball.”People close to the team management that presided over India’s T20 World Cup win believe Pant’s strong foundation as a batter was preferred during that tournament.

“It was not just about Pant being a left-hander. Pant played a couple of tough knocks in tough batting conditions in New York. Pant and Gill have the game to handle tough conditions as well,” sources said.Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour, who has worked with Samson at Rajasthan Royals in the last IPL, had once told TOI how Samson would be edgy when he got into the Indian dressing room. “To be fair to him, he only got to play if someone was rested, or he played in second-string sides.

One felt he was trying too hard to impress and outdo himself,” Rathour had said last Nov, adding: “He has become calm in the last year or so.

He never complained when he didn’t get a game and he was so calm even during the T20 World Cup.”Gandhi believes the Asia Cup is still a golden opportunity for Samson to seal his spot. “He probably fell behind because he struggled to play the pace of England’s bowling attack at home. But if he can show he is flexible enough, he can finally seal his spot,” Gandhi said.Samson enjoyed his best year in international cricket in 2024. The series against England at home in Jan where he could only score 51 runs in five games may have shaken the team management’s confidence in him. It’s up to him to cash in if he is given an opportunity next month.