"We thought Sanju Samson was not even going to play" - Former Indian spinner's massive claim after IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 Final

Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik praised Sanju Samson for adopting his new role in the middle-order and delivering the goods after the side's triumph in the 2025 Asia Cup. The Men in Blue pulled off a famous final-over win in the finale against Pakistan in Dubai on September 28.

Despite giving up his opening position, where he plundered runs for fun in T20Is over the past year, the wicketkeeper batter scored a crucial 21-ball 24 to bail India out of early trouble in the final. Samson walked into bat with India in dire straits at 20/3 in their run chase of 147 and added a game-changing 57-run partnership with Tilak Varma.

Talking about Samson in the post-match show on Cricbuzz, Kartik said (16:28):

"It wasn't just a final on the line. It was about the plyability of Sanju Samson. Everybody is talking about whether he can fit into that role. What he likes is up top but that's not been given to him and has been given to Shubman Gill. He needed to soak in the pressure and be the second fiddle. This role he played was a lovely support cast at a very crucial juncture in that run chase."

He continued:

"Think of Sanju Samson - opening the innings and doing it well, suddenly asked to go down the order. Jitesh is more suited for that and all the talk in the build up to the tournament was about Jitesh. We thought Sanju Samson was not even going to play. And suddenly he's put into this pressure situation. He's got runs, in the three innings, he has got more than 100 runs, very close to Shubman Gill, who has had six innings when he has had only three innings."

Despite not opening the batting throughout the tournament, Samson finished with an average of 33 and a strike rate of over 124 in seven games.

"He showed what it takes to absorb pressure" - Dinesh Karthik

Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik also praised Sanju Samson for his crucial yet underrated role in India's 2025 Asia Cup final win over Pakistan. The 30-year-old had smashed three centuries in T20Is since the middle of last year, entering the Asia Cup.

However, with Shubman Gill returning to the T20I side, Samson was forced to concede his opening spot and bat in the middle order in the Asia Cup.

"He was opening and was such a success as an opener. But being sent at No. 5 and even No. 8, tossed around the batting order, today under pressure he showed what it takes to absorb pressure. He didn't win the game for us but he took it to a point where it could be won from there," sai Karthik (via the aforementioned source).

Meanwhile, Team India won their second consecutive Asia Cup title and a ninth overall.