The Asia Cup squad announcement last week in Mumbai had experts and fans sympathising with Sanju Samson, as speculations began that he might not feature in any of the matches during the tournament, despite being part of the 15-member list. The return of Shubman Gill to the T20I fold, as vice-captain, suggested that Samson, who spent the last 12 months building his stature as a mainstay opener in the shortest format for India — including three tons in his last 10 innings — would have to relinquish his opening role.
There is, of course, the option of Samson moving down to No. 6. But the wicketkeeper-batter has seldom played the finisher’s role in T20s, and India already have a specialist in that position in Jitesh Sharma.
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Yet Samson isn’t ready to give up. With India having no preparatory games before the Asia Cup, which begins on September 9 in the UAE, he turned to the Kerala Cricket League to gear up, smashing 223 runs in three innings. Representing Kochi Blue Tigers, he first batted at No. 6, but the move backfired. He then returned to his original position and clobbered 121 and 89 in the next two matches as an opener. Those knocks effectively threw an open challenge at Gill and the team management ahead of the Asia Cup.