“He should be batting at No. 5” - Former cricketer slams India’s move to slot Sanju Samson at No. 3 in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 game

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has questioned the Men in Blue’s decision to slot wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson at No. 3 in the Asia Cup 2025 clash against Oman on Friday, September 19, in Abu Dhabi. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bat first, with the team bringing in Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in place of Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy.

In India’s playing XI team sheet, Sanju was listed at No. 3. Speaking on the matter, Jaffer urged that Samson should be batting at No. 5, arguing that playing him at No. 3 would not achieve anything. He said [via ESPNcricinfo]:

“I think he (Sanju Samson) should be batting at number five. I feel he needs to get used to that number. He hasn’t batted there at all, whether for Rajasthan Royals or with the Indian team. He needs some game time there, coming later in the innings and then accelerating from the start. He’s a quality player. If he bats at that number, I’m sure he’ll get used to it because he’s a clean striker of the ball. But it’s something he’s not used to. So I believe, even though you might tempt him to get some game time, I don’t think he’s going to achieve anything by batting at number three.”

Former opener Abhinav Mukund also weighed in on the matter during the same conversation, noting that it has been challenging for the Kerala batter, who had opened in the last 12 T20Is before being moved down the order in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. Mukund said:

“This has almost been a problem with Sanju Samson in the position that he plays because he couldn’t find a spot and hence was pushed to open, because three, four, five, six were all filled up with other middle-order batters. So he was pushed up. He got his hundreds and he had a poor England series. Now he’s pushed back down. So it’s a very difficult thing as a batter to adapt.”

In his last 12 matches before the Asia Cup 2025, Samson scored 417 runs as an opener, averaging 37.9 with a strike rate of 183.7, including three centuries.

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“It’s a little bit unfair” - Abhinav Mukund on Sanju Samson’s new role in India’s T20I team

In the same discussion, Abhinav Mukund also pointed out that it would be challenging for Sanju Samson to adjust to his new middle-order role, given his lack of experience in that position. He said:

“I know they want to remain fluid at 3, 4, 5, 6, but starting off against spin with the old ball, possibly in the 12th over, batting first it’s still fine. Imagine you had to bat second and needed to get 85 in eight overs. When was the last time Sanju Samson did that? And that’s a question I’m asking, because everybody else in that middle order has at some position or at some point in their domestic T20 or in their IPL career come across it."

"But Sanju would have almost only come across situations of getting 180 or 220 when he walks out to bat. So that’s a question that India need to be answering, and I think it’s a little bit unfair on Sanju if that’s the route India are going to take as well," he added.

Before India’s game against Oman, Sanju Samson had played 44 matches, scoring 861 runs at an average of 25.3 and a strike rate of 152.3, including three centuries and two fifties.