Indian wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson, who earlier cemented his spot in the T20I squad as the team’s core opening batter, finds his future under jeopardy.

Having been benched in the last three T20Is out of the 5-match series against Australia, the Kerala-born cricketer seems to have lost his place in India’s 20-over format setup.

Let’s find out how Shubman Gill’s comeback into the T20I squad led to a talented batter like Samson being neglected.

‘Gill as Vice Captain Sidelined Samson’: Kaif Reveals Truth

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif argued why Samson was benched in the last two fixtures of the Australian tour despite being a regular player in India’s squad after the T20 World Cup 2024:

“See! There would have been no confusion if Sanju Samson had continued playing as an opener. But, with Shubman Gill as vice-captain in all matches, he was sidelined,” Kaif said.

Jitesh Sharma vs Sanju Samson: Preferred Lower Order Batter

Kaif furthermore clarified on how Jitesh Sharma’s finishing skills earned him a spot as No.5 or No.6 batter rather than Sanju Samson, which indeed works in Gill’s favor to continue as a vice-captain cum opener.

“Yeah! It is a fact to accept that Jitesh is the best finisher when batting at fifth or sixth position compared to Samson. Just because Gill is being trained as the future skipper and player, Sanju lost his deserved spot.

In other words, the team grooming Gill for the captaincy role in the future caused Sanju’s role to be overshadowed,” Kaif added.

Players Backed Based on Their Batting Position

Mohammad Kaif explains how Team India’s players are retained based on their batting number spot, which caused Sanju Samson to get benched for the remainder of the Australian T20I series:

Just look at his stats in T20Is. He boasts a strike rate near to 150. But the harsh reality is that players are currently getting backed up just by their batting number position,” Kaif added.

In the first two T20Is against Australia, the 30-year-old batted only once and managed to score just 2 runs. So, from the third T20I onwards, he was sidelined.

Gill’s inclusion at the top order demoted Samson to the middle order, where his form worsened than ever before.

This was the golden opportunity for Jitesh to retain his spot in India’s lower order. In the 3rd T20I of the series in Australia, he remained unbeaten alongside Washington Sundar (49 runs), having scored a quickfire cameo of 22 runs from 13 deliveries (including 3 fours). The duo batters steered India to a 5-wicket win in a 188-run chase at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

Is Gill the Main Reason for Complicating India’s Batting Order?

Sanju Samson hasn’t been at his best while batting lower down the order. After establishing himself as a reliable opener and opening the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma, the batting line-up was well set with the left-right hand batting combination in the following ways:

• Explosive opening batters Abhishek (Left-Handed Batter) and Samson (Right-Handed Batter), particularly in power plays.
• Suryakumar Yadav (right-handed batter) retained his favorite No.3 spot.
• Tilak Varma (left-handed batter) rose to fame when he batted at No.4.
• Hardik Pandya (right-handed batter), Shivam Dube (left-handed batter), and Rinku Singh (left-handed batter)— Perfect Finishers for India.

Gill, who was away from India’s T20I setup for more than a year, marked his comeback into the shortest format as SKY’s deputy. Being an inferior opening batter compared to Samson, his return since the Asia Cup 2025 weakened the men-in-blue’s dynamic batting line-up by pushing down the order.

To fit the vice-captain at the top order, Samson was pushed to the middle order, leaving Tilak and Suryakumar clash for the No.3 position.

Samson’s Chances to Return as Opener in T20Is

Sanju Samson’s chances to earn his opener’s role back in the forthcoming T20I series against South Africa and New Zealand seem to be slim.

His performances in the past year have been overlooked only because of his inability to fit into the middle and lower orders, which forced him to be excluded out of the playing XI.

Conclusion

Team India’s strategy of frequently altering their playing XI combinations in T20Is hasn’t gone well in the past few months. Still, the men in blue have been fortunate enough to triumph in the Asia Cup 2025 and the Australian 5-match T20I series by 2-1.

Several fans and experts believe that this type of experimentation won’t yield success on a long-term basis.

India’s focus to nurture Gill as T20I skipper on a long-term basis has resulted in losing their most consistent and talented run-scorers in the batting unit.

When it comes to choosing either Sanju Samson or Jitesh Sharma in the middle order, the Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir have opted for Jitesh as the best choice.

It remains to be observed whether this sacrifice will earn India success under SKY’s captaincy to defend their T20 World Cup title in 2026.