Suryakumar Yadav maintains suspense over Sanju Samson's spot in playing XI: 'Don’t worry...'

Suryakumar Yadav maintains suspense over Sanju Samson's spot in playing XI (AFP Photo)

Sanju Samson's spot in the playing XI at the Asia Cup 2025 has been heavily debated. Samson has shouldered opening responsibility in the T20I format for the last one year, where he did a great job with Abhishek Sharma. However, with the return of Shubman Gill, things are once again left hanging for the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter, who many have argued will lose the slot to the newly appointed Test captain.

Suryakumar Yadav was asked on the subject at the Asia Cup press conference on Tuesday but the India T20I skipper remained tight lipped on this being the case. “Sir, I shall message you the playing XI. But yes, we are really taking good care of him (Samson) and don’t worry, we shall make the right decision,” he noted.

In the last 12 months, when Gill was engaged in other formats, Samson tried to make the opening slot his own. He delivered consistently and notched three hundreds in ten T20Is.

Also Read | Asia Cup 2025: The Sanju Samson debate

Samson, however, failed to make the impact Rajasthan Royals would have hoped for in IPL 2025. He dealt with injury and managed 285 runs from nine outings at a strike-rate of 140.39. Samson also had to sacrifice his opening slot to a young Vaibhav Suryavanshi at the latter stages of the league. But he was once again at his best at the Kerala Cricket League, right before the Asia Cup. There playing for Kochi Blue Tigers, Samson amassed 368 runs in six matches at an incredible strike-rate of 186.80.

Gill, on the other hand, amassed a solid 650 runs from 15 matches at a strike-rate of 155.87 in IPL 2025. Gill's efforts certainly puts him above Samson, considering how he led Gujarat Titans from the front, a franchise that didn't boast a formidable batting line-up. Gill maintained the show as he switched to red-ball, where he flourished despite the added responsibility of leading the Indian Test team. In England, Gill amassed 754 runs from ten innings, which was the highest individual total from both sides.

While former India coach Ravi Shastri has sent a message to keep Samson intact as an opener, it shouldn't come as a surprise if he isn't considered in the playing XI. Samson's returns batting down the order is far from promising and Jitesh Sharma, who is the second wicketkeeper, fits in perfectly in that slot. In fact, Jitesh had accumulated 261 runs from 11 innings at a strike-rate of 176.35 in IPL 2025.