Shubman Gill's return to India's T20I squad has triggered a reshuffle in the team's batting order, with Suryakumar Yadav hinting that no position, apart from the opening spot, is guaranteed. Yadav, ahead of the five-match T20I series against South Africa, indicated that Sanju Samson will have to compete with Jitesh Sharma for a middle-order spot.
Sanju Samson made his return to T20Is in 2023, and he was entrusted with a consistent role at the top of the order. He responded promisingly, cracking three centuries in five innings. But his momentum was disrupted when Shubman Gill was named in India’s Asia Cup squad for 2025. Gill reclaimed his place at the top. And, with Gill's ascension at the top, Samson was pushed into the middle order, where he managed just one fifty in five innings.
"Sanju, when he came into the circuit, he batted higher up the order. Now the thing is, other than the openers, I feel everyone has to be flexible. He did really well when he opened the innings, but Shubman had played before him in the Sri Lanka series, so he deserves to take that spot," Yadav said at the press conference.
"But we gave Sanju opportunities. He was ready to bat at any number, which is actually good to see – a player being flexible to bat anywhere from No. 3 to 6. That's one thing I have told all the batters that other than openers, everyone has to be very flexible. Both [Samson and Jitesh] are in the scheme of things. It's always good to have lovely players like both of them being part of the squad. One can open, one can bat lower down the order. In fact, both can do all the roles. It's an asset to the team and a good headache to have," Yadav said.
The five-match T20I series against South Africa is very important for India to fine tune their skills ahead of the World Cup early next year. The first T20I between both teams will be played on Tuesday in Cuttack.