Sanju Samson flops in middle order in Kerala Cricket League ahead of Asia Cup 2025

Sanju Samson has done extremely well as an opener in India’s T20I team in the last year. He was handed the responsibility of leading the charge, and Samson repaid the faith with three centuries in one year for the Men in Blue.

Samson was also named in the Indian 15-man squad for the Asia Cup on August 19. However, notably, Shubman Gill also made his comeback in the T20I setup and was named the vice-captain of the team as well, cementing his place at the top of the order.

Even BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar admitted that Samson was only opening the innings because Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were busy in ODI and Test formats.

This means Sanju Samson will compete for the wicket-keeper spot in the India XI with Jitesh Sharma. On the other hand, Jitesh has batted in the middle order for most of his T20 career and excelled as a finisher for RCB in their IPL 2025 winning run. There is a huge possibility that Samson might be benched for the tournament in favor of Jitesh Sharma.

Sanju Samson fails in the middle order for his team in the Kerala Cricket League 2025

The batsman-wicketkeeper responded to the commotion on Saturday during the Kerala Cricket League 2025 match between Alleppey Ripples and Kochi Blue Tigers. Samson entered the game for Kochi as number six, igniting rumors about his potential Asia Cup participation and demonstrating his versatility in the lineup.

But the right-handed hitter only managed 13 off 22, so the move backfired. Samson arrived with Kochi at 108 for four, but he was unable to hit any boundaries and left in the 17th over with a strike rate below 60.

Before the Indian squad leaves for the United Arab Emirates, Samson still has six games left this month to go back to his best. Since India won't be playing any T20I matches prior to the Asia Cup, Samson's sole chance to demonstrate his ability as a middle-order batsman will be in this T20 league.

According to reports, the Indian team will actually arrive in the United Arab Emirates ahead of schedule in order to adjust to the local climate before their campaign starts on September 10.

Eight teams will compete in the Asia Cup 2025, which will start on September 9 in the United Arab Emirates.

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