"His timing was excellent" - Sunil Gavaskar lauds Sanju Samson's knock in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 clash

Former India player Sunil Gavaskar has lauded Sanju Samson for playing a lengthy knock in the Men in Blue's Asia Cup 2025 clash against Oman. While highlighting that Samson's timing was excellent, he noted that spending time in the middle would hold the wicketkeeper-batter in good stead.

Samson scored 56 runs off 45 deliveries as India set Oman a 189-run target in the Asia Cup 2025 Group A game in Abu Dhabi on Friday, September 19. The Indian bowlers then restricted Jatinder Singh and company to 167/4 to help the defending champions register a 21-run win.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Gavaskar was asked about his thoughts on Samson's knock.

"He batted extremely well. He needed to bat for long, and that's what he did, because he might come to bat at No. 4 or No. 5 in the next match, and his batting will be required there. When a batter scores 40-50 runs, he gets confidence as he stands at the ground for a few overs and hits some fours and sixes. His timing was excellent," he responded.

The former India captain particularly appreciated Samson for a straight six he hit.

"He played a shot where he hit a straight six. The way he waited and hit that six, he checked his shot a little at the last second, it was enjoyable. We get to see his class from that. He has so much time to play the ball. He has so many choices as to where he should hit. Very few batters have that choice whether to hit on the off side or the leg side, and Sanju Samson is one such batter," Gavaskar observed.

Sanju Samson struck three fours and as many sixes during his 56-run knock. He struck a straight six off a short delivery from Zikria Islam after he had hit Samay Shrivastava and Shah Faiswal for a maximum apiece.

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"He is experienced at this number" - Abhishek Nayar on Sanju Samson delivering at No. 3 in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 clash

Sanju Samson walked out to bat when Shubman Gill was bowled in the second over. [P/C: Getty]

In a separate discussion on Sony Sports, former India all-rounder Abhishek Nayar was asked about Sanju Samson being among the runs at No. 3.

"He is experienced at this number. He has played a lot for the Rajasthan Royals at this number. He opened for India for sure, but he gets time here. He didn't score too many runs off the first six balls, but after that, once he finds his rhythm, he plays big shots against the spinners after the powerplay, and that was seen today," he replied.

The former India coach added that Friday's knock will give Samson much-needed confidence when he bats down the order in the upcoming games.

"It's always a good sign because if you are going to bat down the order in the upcoming matches, you take a different kind of confidence when you have runs in your account. As it's said, runs in the middle is invaluable. You get confidence only after scoring them," Nayar observed.

Sanju Samson used to open with Abhishek Sharma before the Asia Cup 2025. However, he lost his spot at the top of the order to Shubman Gill and is unlikely to bat at No. 3 either in the remainder of the tournament, with one of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma potentially batting at that position.