Asia Cup 2025: India legend feels Sanju Samson should play, even if he doesn't open

Veteran cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that the Indian team will try their level best to give chances to Sanju Samson in the Playing XI in the Asia Cup 2025, regardless of the batting position that he gets. There has been a considerable amount of confusion if Sanju would be finding a spot in the Playing XI, since his opening spot has most likely been taken over by the newly-appointed vice-captain Shubman Gill.

The Mumbai-born believes that the management will have a hard time while deciding on the Playing XI, especially the batting unit and the order in which they take their guards. While Samson has been impressive, Gavaskar remembers the impactful role played by Jitesh Sharma in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's triumphant season during the Indian Premier League 2025.

"I think it's a very good headache to have for any selection committee that you have two capable batters and somebody like Sanju Samson who can maybe even bat at three and, if needed, come down at six as a finisher. And Jitesh has also done well in the recently concluded IPL, where he's played exceedingly well. So yes, I think it's a pleasant headache for the tour selection committee," the legendary India cricketer was quoted as saying by India Today.

"If you take somebody like Sanju Samson in the core team, then you can't leave him out in the reserves. But my feeling is that maybe Samson will probably get the nod ahead of Jitesh for at least the first couple of games. And then, depending on what his form is for the rest of the tournament. But this is what I think will happen," the 75-year-old added.

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Asia Cup to begin on September 9

Notably, at the time of squad announcement for the eight-team tournament, Jitesh Sharma was announced as the first-choice wicketkeeper. However, an experienced person like Samson cannot be left out, since he also brings leadership to the table. It will be interesting to see who gets the green signal to take the field, once the showpiece event begins.

India squad for Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana.