Sanju Samson will have a new role in the Indian T20I side as captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed him as Abhishek Sharma’s opening partner for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. Since his debut nine years ago in 2015 against Zimbabwe, it has rarely happened that Samson has been confirmed in the XI as the first-choice keeper for an entire series, let alone as an opener, but the Bangladesh T20Is that begin in Gwalior are set to change that.
The Indian squad for these T20Is has only designated opener in Abhishek Sharma. Among the others, Sanju is the only one with prominent experience at the top of the order. While captain Suryakumar Yadav has opened the batting in this format for India and in domestic cricket for Mumbai and also in the IPL for Mumbai Indians, the kind of destruction he can cause at No.3 or No.4 is unmatchable.
“Sanju Samson will play and open the batting in this series going forward with Abhishek Sharma,” said India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar, on the eve of the series opener in Gwalior.
In the 30 T20Is that Samson has played for India, he has opened the batting on five occasions. If the 77-run knock against Ireland in 2022 is taken away then Samson has very little success at the top of the order to show for. He But at the beginning of his IPL career with the Rajasthan Royals, he found a lot of success in the powerplay. Currently, although he bats at No.3, allowing the blistering combination of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Samson can be destructive against the new ball purely because of the range of shots he has.
These three T20Is against Bangladesh will be a golden opportunity for Samson to cement his place in the T20I XI. The next edition of the T20 World Cup is still two years away but if he wants to remain in the scheme of things he would get a better platform than three matches as the keeper and opener.
Samson was named as the first-choice keeper for this series after the selection committee decided to give Rishabh Pant a breather. Pant was playing non-stop cricket ever since making a comeback in the IPL earlier this year.
‘Don’t think pitch is slow’: Suryakumar on Gwalior track
It will seem like a bit of a comeback for Captain Surya, too. He missed the Duleep Trophy due to a finger injury he suffered while fielding during a Buchi Babu Trophy match. India’s best batter in this format said the new stadium in Gwalior is set to provide a good surface for an ideal T20 game.
“In the two or three days that we practised here, we didn’t feel that the pitch was slow. It appears to be a good T20 wicket. So, expecting a competitive game.
“We have got to know about the conditions here during the practice sessions. So, we now have an idea of how the pitch might behave. We have been talking to the ground staff about the wind factor or the dew factor. We would like to stick to our plans. IF everyone performs there role, then achieving the desired results should not be a problem for us.”
