Since the Asia Cup, Samson’s batting number has changed. After being dropped from the flyhalf position, he was first sent to 3, then to 5, and was again promoted to 3.
In the current Indian T20I setup, there are no fixed batting positions. Harshit Rana could bat in front of Shivam Dube, and for a while now, Axar Patel has been sent in front of Hardik Pandya. While this approach benefits some players, it doesn’t work for everyone. Sanju Samson may be one of those who is hurt by this tactic.
After returning to the T20I team in mid-2024, Samson played as an opener. But for the Asia Cup, he batted at number 3 and then number 5. He had mixed results. But it looked like the wicketkeeper was starting to get the hang of it in the middle overs. But then, in the 2nd T20I India vs Australia, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav changed Samson’s batting position again.
Sanju Samson is treated unfairly
Since he is a top-order hitter, Samson was sent at 3 since Shubman Gill left early at the MCG. This approach did not work. And according to Irfan Pathan, it makes sense that this is not the case. The former Indian all-rounder pointed out that players lose stability when their batting position is changed so often.
“As for Sanju Samson, if he continues to move up and down the batting order like that, I don’t know how effective it will be. I know that in T20 cricket, apart from the openers, no one really has a fixed position, and flexibility is important. But in the name of flexibility, you shouldn’t become so elastic that you lose the stability that comes with defined roles. This is something that the Indian team really needs to pay attention to.” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.
The World Cup explained that Samson excelled as a flyhalf, but his role was changed and he adapted to the requirement of playing in the middle. As soon as he seemed to understand, his position was changed again.
“When you constantly change a player’s role, things naturally change. Playing against the older ball in the middle of the overs, like Sanju Samson did in the Asia Cup, is very different from opening the innings, where he had scored three centuries. It requires a different mindset and a lot of mental strength, along with strong team support.” he added.
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Pathan warned Samson that even though Gambhir and Suryakumar support him now, it only takes a few bad outings to change that. They have already shown that it is superfluous; otherwise he would not have been eliminated as an opener.
“There is no doubt that he is getting the support he needs. But that support can fade quickly if a player suffers three or four failures in a row. Hopefully that won’t happen with Sanju Samson,” Pathan concluded.
Samson has to perform in the ongoing India vs Australia T20I series or the upcoming South Africa series otherwise he might miss out on the 2026 T20 World Cup berth.
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