“Sanju Samson might come ahead” – Former India cricketer predicts stumper's batting position ahead of IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 match

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar believes that Sanju Samson is unlikely to be promoted with the bat in the top four for the Asia Cup 2025 match against Oman in Abu Dhabi on Friday, September 18. The cricketer-turned-analyst, however, earmarked that Samson might get a chance to bat above Shivam Dube at No. 5 in the last group-stage game.

For the unversed, Samson smashed three T20I tons while opening the innings in the last calendar year. The 30-year-old, though, managed just 51 runs in five innings during the five-match series against England at home earlier this year. The wicketkeeper-batter recently slammed 368 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 186.80 in the 2025 Kerala T20 League.

Surprisingly, Samson didn’t get a chance to bat in the first two matches of the continental tournament as the Men in Blue beat the UAE and arch-rivals Pakistan by nine and seven wickets, respectively. Vice-captain Shubman Gill, who made his T20I comeback after a 13-month gap, has been opening alongside World No.1-ranked T20I batter Abhishek Sharma at the Asia Cup 2025.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Bangar said on the eve of the IND vs OMAN Asia Cup 2025 match:

“They will stick to the top four, and after that, you might not witness Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson might come ahead because Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya haven’t had the chance to bat so far.”

Justifying his reason, Bangar pointed out that Gill is yet to score big since his T20I comeback:

“I think they will stick with the same batting till No. 4 because Shubman Gill hasn’t scored big in the first matches. And Tilak got an opportunity in one match.”

Gill smashed an unbeaten 20 off nine balls against the UAE but got out for 10 runs off seven deliveries against Pakistan.

Bangar further stressed that batting first (if they win the toss) will not only help Samson and Hardik Pandya get batting practice but also give the Indian bowlers a chance to test themselves against dew ahead of the Super 4 games. The 52-year-old continued:

“Yes, India will definitely think about batting first. Try to bat first and give your batters an opportunity because the way they [India] have gotten starts by Abhishek Sharma in both matches... Suryakumar Yadav has batted well, but other batters haven’t got many opportunities.”

“I think if India wins the toss, then they will surely want to bat first. It’s also because the bowlers will get an experience that if there is dew, then they have to bowl with the dew, which can be a factor in the upcoming matches,” he added.

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“He will want to settle at one place” – Sanjay Bangar on India captain

Sanjay Bangar further urged skipper Suryakumar Yadav to continue at No. 3 following his match-winning knock against Pakistan in the last match. He said in the same video:

“Surya has batted in both games, but he will want to settle at one place. He might have made up his mind to play at No. 3. So, as a captain, he will try to continue that.”

Notably, Suryakumar Yadav smashed an unbeaten 47 off 37 deliveries, comprising one six and five boundaries to take defending champions India over the line against the Men in Green. The right-handed batter also stayed unbeaten on seven off two balls as India beat the UAE in their opening game of the Asia Cup 2025 campaign.