The arrival of Shubman Gill in India’s T20I scheme of things is not good news for Sanju Samson. Contrary to the initial expectations, Gill was believed to wait for his return to India’s T20I squad, but when the BCCI chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, announced his name as the vice-captain, Samson’s fate was sealed. The opening pair of Samson and Abhishek Sharma was the one constant India was supposed to stick with for their Asia Cup campaign, but since there’s no way the vice-captain will be benched, Samson, unfortunately, through no fault of his own, will have to make way.
So what is it about Samson, eh? The man made his India debut in 2015; how come, even after 10 years of being around in the international set-up, he hasn’t been able to cement his place? The T20 is his favourite hunting ground, given the success he has enjoyed in the IPL, but with Gill returning to the opening position along with Abhishek, Samson’s relegation becomes a well-known fact. He sure is part of the Asia Cup squad, but chances of Samson playing in the XI look dim, especially with Jitesh Sharma set to be the designated wicketkeeper in the absence of Rishabh Pant.
Just recently, Samson, during his chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on the latter’s YouTube channel, revealed how India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir assured him he won’t be dropped, not even after he scores 21 ducks in a row. So how did things go downhill so quickly? Former BCCI selector Devang Gandhi has the answer.
“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,” he told The Times of India.
Gandhi makes somewhat of a valid point. Samson was troubled by the short ball earlier this year when England played 5 T20Is against them in January-February. To the extent that Samson’s impressive figures across last year don’t stand much of a chance. And boy, those are some numbers. In 2024, Samson smashed three T20I centuries for India, and as an opener has better numbers – 522 runs from 17 innings – than in the middle order – 339 runs from 21. Samson also became just the sixth player to score back-to-back T20I centuries.
Gandhi, however, reaffirms that the door hasn’t shut entirely on Samson. If he does well, given a chance, Samson can prolong his T20I career for India. But the question remains: What is the definition of doing well if scoring all those runs isn’t?
“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, who played 4 Tests and 3 ODIs for India, added.
