Sanju Samson ‘flexible enough’ to bat down the order in Asia Cup 2025, says childhood coach

Sanju Samson's mentor-cum-coach Raiphi Gomez recently commented on the former being technically equipped to bat at any position in the Asia Cup 2025.

While Samson is a part of India's 15-member squad, he is not the first-choice for opening the batting in the 20-over tournament, with Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma likely to be the preferred pair. However, Gomez stated that Samson also has the ability to bat lower down the order.

“Being a professional and internationally-established player, Sanju is flexible enough to make the adjustments if he has to bat down the order. His flexibility is what guides him, and he is very confident about his abilities,” Gomez was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

As per Gomez, the talks of Samson being "under pressure" is nothing more than a narrative created by the media. He also praised the performance Samson has put in with the bat in the ongoing Kerala Cricket League (KCL). Samson is representing Kochi Blue Tigers in the KCL. He was not required to bat in Kochi's season-opening clash. His scores in the other three matches (as of August 26) read 6 off 3, 89 off 46 and 121 off 51.

“Has Sanju said anything about being under pressure? No. So, it’s all outside noise, and we are not really concerned about what is being said outside. Our focus is on making sure Sanju keeps getting better with the bat. He is only concerned about the job he needs to do for India. What happened in the England T20Is is part and parcel of the game, which every cricketer goes through. Then, after the injury during the IPL, he spent necessary time at the (BCCI) Centre of Excellence to regain fitness, and now, he appears well placed rhythm-wise, playing in these KCL matches," he added.

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Samson last played for India in February 2025. He had had a forgettable T20I series against England, registering only 51 runs in five innings. Later, Samson scored only 285 runs in nine IPL 2025 matches for Rajasthan Royals in a start-stop season due to injuries.