“It sends a warning sign for Sanju Samson” - Ex-Indian cricketer gives a bad news to Kerala keeper-batter

Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has stated that Sanju Samson’s spot in the playing XI is not guaranteed anymore after the inclusion of Shubman Gill as the new vice-captain of the Indian team for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2025 campaign.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Gill believes that Gill is expected to open the innings with left-handed batter Abhishek Sharma, which makes Samson move out of the playing XI with Jitesh Sharma taking up the keeping gloves.

"I think Sanju Samson's place in the XI is tough. When the team reaches the UAE, they will assess players' form and team balance before finalizing the XI. At the moment, I believe Samson won't come in the top four. Gill and Abhishek Sharma will open, Tilak Varma will bat at No. 3, given his impressive record for India, and Suryakumar Yadav will slot in at No. 4,” Kaif told on his YouTube channel.

"If Sanju Samson doesn't make it to the top four, then Jitesh Sharma is a specialist at No. 5 or 6. He has shown good form at those positions and recently helped RCB win the trophy. With Gill becoming vice-captain and opening alongside Abhishek Sharma, it sends a warning sign for Sanju Samson. He might miss out on the playing XI,” he added.

In the England T20I series earlier this year, Samson could score only 51 runs from five innings. In the IPL 2025 season, he could amass only 285 runs from nine games while missing out a few games due to an injury.

India’s squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel.

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