“30 runs came in 6 balls” - Former India cricketer makes scathing remark on Sanju Samson’s 56 off 45 balls in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 clash

Former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar has questioned Sanju Samson’s approach in the Asia Cup 2025 game against Oman. The match is being played on Friday, September 19, in Abu Dhabi.

Opting to bat, India scored 188/8 in their 20 overs, with Samson top-scoring with 56 off 45 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes. Reacting to the Kerala batter’s knock, Gavaskar noted that, apart from the boundaries, Samson struggled to score freely.

The 49-year-old said that Samson’s approach could have been different if he were playing against a stronger team instead of Oman, as then he would have rotated the strike more often rather than trying to bash every ball. He said [via Cricbuzz]:

“Top score of 56, strike rate of 124, which, in a sense, for me tells you what this pitch is like. Because when you look at those numbers again, out of those 45 balls he faced, 30 runs came in just six balls. So, in the remaining 39 deliveries, he scored only 25 runs.”

“I also think those numbers would have been different if this was not Oman. Sometimes, when you face lower-level opposition as a high-quality batter, there’s a tendency to think, “Okay, let me just try and hit fours and sixes.” If this had been a stronger team on this pitch, and he had faced 45 deliveries like he did, he probably would have scored a bit more. There would have been more dot balls, more balls where you think, “I need to give the bowler respect, I’m not going to try and bash everything that comes,” he added.

Rohan Gavaskar continued:

“You try to look for ones and twos as well, nudge the ball around, and when the bad ball comes, you take the three fours, the three sixes, 30 runs, and instead of 25 out of 39, it might have been more. So, he probably would have scored more. But because sometimes when you play against lower-level opposition as a high-quality batter, there’s that tendency to just try and bash it around, see how many fours you can hit, how many sixes you can hit.”

Meanwhile, this marked Sanju Samson’s third fifty for India in his 45th game, taking his overall tally to 917 runs at an average of 26.20 and a strike rate of 150.32, including three centuries.

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“He’ll be talking about this delivery for years to come” - Rohan Gavaskar on Shah Faisal cleaning up India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill

Oman pacer Shah Faisal dismissed India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill with a brilliant delivery, cleaning him up for just five runs off eight balls. Reacting to the dismissal in the same conversation, Rohan Gavaskar said that Faisal will remember it forever. He said:

“The thing about the dismissal of Shubman Gill is that it’s not just about getting him out. You’ve comprehensively beaten him with the way the ball shaped back in, hitting the stumps, a classical left-arm spinner’s dismissal. Kudos to him.”

“He’ll be talking about this delivery for years to come. People in Oman, his teammates, and he himself will be talking about this delivery, saying, “Wow, do you remember that? I just got a perfect release, shaped it back in late.” It was such a wonderful moment for him, and that celebration showed how much it meant to him,” he added.

Meanwhile, India opener Shubman Gill has not had the best of Asia Cup 2025 so far, scoring just 35 runs in three matches at an average of 17.50.