Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has made it clear that Shubman Gill will go straight back to his old opening role in the upcoming five-match T20 series against South Africa starting December 9 in Visakhapatnam, leaving Sanju Samson out of the top spot once again.
The decision is a big blow to Samson, who had built strong form as an opening batsman in T20Is. Returning to India’s T20I line-up in 2024, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman has been given a consistent opportunity at the top following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format.
Has Sanju Samson lost his opening position forever?
He took this opportunity with both hands, scoring three centuries in five innings and building a strong partnership with Abhishek Sharma. This led many to believe that Samson would remain at the helm for a long time, but the entire equation changed when Gill was made India’s vice-captain ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup.
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Gill was an important part of India’s T20I plans until July 2024, as their focus was more on ODIs and Tests. However, once Gill returned, the Indian cricket team management felt that he was entitled to take back the opening slot he previously held.
Samson was moved to the middle order, but the adjustment was not as good as the team had hoped. In five innings, Samson could only score one half-century, and that collapse led to him being dropped during the T20I series in Australia.
Suryakumar Yadav confirms Shubman Gill as opener, Sanju Samson slipped to middle order
Even though Sanju Samson has just lost his place, Suryakumar has confirmed that Sanju Samson is still in the fight for a place in the team, but he stressed that everyone should be flexible and be ready to rotate in the batting order depending on the needs of the team.
“In terms of Sanju, when he came on the circuit, he batted higher up the order. Now the thing is, apart from the openers, I think everyone else has to be very flexible. When he opened the innings he did really well. But Shubman has played before him in the Sri Lanka series, so he deserved to take that position,” Suryakumar Yadav said in the pre-match press conference as quoted by India Today.
With Samson on the radar, the Men in Blue went to Jitesh Sharma in the lower middle order. Jitesh had impressed everyone with his finishing skills for RCB in IPL 2025 and then his aggressive style added a new option to India’s batting plans.
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Suryakumar Yadav calls Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma ‘good headache’ for India
And the Indian captain said that the team now has two wicketkeeper-batsmen who can play in any batting position and that is a good situation. The captain reiterated that both Jitesh and Sanju are part of the plan moving forward in the shorter formats of the game.
Suryakumar said, “We gave chances to Sanju Samson; he was ready to bat at any number. It’s good to see a player ready to bat at any position. From 3 to 6, anywhere. I have said this to all the batsmen: apart from the openers, everyone has to be flexible.
Both are in the plan of things. It’s always good to have these two as part of the team. One can open, and one can bat lower down the order. Both can play all roles. “It’s an asset to our team and a good headache.”
