3 reasons why India must not drop Sanju Samson from playing 11 for 2025 Asia Cup 

Team India wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson's place in the playing XI for the Asia Cup 2025 is under jeopardy as Shubman Gill made a resounding return to the squad. The opening batter, who has also been named as vice-captain, is likely to be a sureshot inclusion in the first step towards the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Samson had fared well ever since claiming the opening slot, smashing three hundreds in quick succession to make the most of his opportunity. However, with Abhishek Sharma considered as the first-choice option, and no room in the middle order, the Kerala glovesman is once again caught in an unfavorable and familiar position.

“Sanju was playing because Shubman and Yashasvi were not available at that point. So was Abhishek. Abhishek’s performances make it hard to leave him out, plus his bowling is handy. Like I said, Shubman was the vice-captain the last time we played T20Is with a full squad, right after the last World Cup in Sri Lanka. Even then, we were thinking along those lines. Now that he is available, he has been picked,” Ajit Agarkar said during the squad selection press conference in Mumbai (via India Today).

"Gill and Sanju - two very good opening options to have alongside Abhishek Sharma. Captain & Coach will take the call after reaching Dubai," he added.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why India must not drop Sanju Samson from playing 11 for the 2025 Asia Cup.

#1 Team India had an established opening combination in Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma that ticked all boxes

One of the major tasks for head coach Gautam Gambhir, after taking over the team, was to establish a new opening combination. Since the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had announced their retirements, India had to find a new pair that met their criteria, which was preferably a left-hand-right-hand combination and capable of playing in an ultra-aggressive manner.

Although Gill and Jaiswal had a small run in Sri Lanka, their availability was an issue. This led India to gamble with the pairing of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, and they responded by justifying their on-paper potential.

Opening together for three successive series, the pair had built quite the chemistry, and the value of having a well-settled opening combination ahead of a major tournament need not be stated. As a result, breaking the pair right after it was settled, and the timing of it is questionable.

Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma have opened in T20Is as wel as for Punjab, but it is fair to say that they might have to start from scratch, that too just months before a major World Cup.

Furthermore, Samson's performances when he was given assurance and a long rope was quite evident. Now that he is back in the zone of uncertainity again as a backup player, the pressure of making the sporadic chance count might get to him once again, like it has done in the past.

#2 Sanju Samson is among the best candidates to maximise the powerplay

India's sheer batting prowess in terms of personnel and depth means that the openers have the license to go all out. Adopting the ultra-aggressive model wholeheartedly has been one of the major accomplishments in the Gautam Gambhir-Suryakumar Yadav regime.

One of the primary reasons India have been able to execute their vision to perfection is the kind of starts that Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are capable of providing. As far as pure explosiveness is concerned, there might not be a candidate better than Sharma as he has a strike rate of close to 200.

But modern-day T20 cricket requires somceone at the other end to keep going as well, and ensure that momentum is retained and pressure is applied on the opposition. Samson has played the second-fiddle act quite well, boasting a strike rate of

Samson's ability to keep going at the other end with the ideal tempo without breaking a sweat has helped Abhishek Sharma not overdo, allowing him to play his natural game and express himself.

The wicket-keeper had a strike rate of 147.31 in the powerplay in T20Is in 2024. The strike rate read 145 and 142.85 in IPL 2024 and 2025, respectively. This level of consistency is exactly what India need at the top of the order to make the most of the powerplay.

Shubman Gill is not far behind in this regard as he had a similar strike rate as Samson in the powerplay during IPL 2025, but that number slightly drops down to 136.89 when it comes to T20Is in 2024.

As far as boundary frequency is considered, which is a vital trait to have in the powerplay, Sanju Samson struck a boundary every 4.3 deliveries in the powerplay during IPL 2025. Shubman Gill, on the other hand, recorded one boundary per 4.9 deliveries, but with a difference of 80 deliveries.

#3 Having a wicket-keeper batter at the top helps Team India with depth and balance

As things stand, if India do not play Sanju Samson, they will have to field Jitesh Sharma in the lower middle-order. In such a combination, either one of the frontline spinners or pacers has to sit out to accommodate another batter or all-rounder for depth at No.8.

(Likely combination without Samson: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav/Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

But if Samson does feature, it frees up the slot to play an extra batter or an all-rounder without having to compromise on bowling strength. With a wicket-keeper slot already used up early on, there is room for India to unleash the spin trio of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy with the pace bowling pairing of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Hardik Pandya can act as the sixth bowling option in this setup. On paper this combination proves to be a much more well-rounded one.