India T20I opener Sanju Samson slotted himself at the No. 5 spot in Kerala Cricket League. Playing in his first match of the tournament, Samson gave up his preferred opener’s spot to Vinoop Manoharan and Jobin Joby of Kochi Blue Tigers, putting himself down in the lower middle order.
Samson, however, did not get to face a single ball in the innings, as Saly Viswanath’s half-century helped the Tigers reach the required target of 98 runs in just 11.5 overs. The change in Samson’s batting position has perhaps come due to the fact that he is at risk of being snubbed out of the opener’s slot from India’s Asia Cup side.
The Kerala batter, who has opened for India in the last cycle, is likely to be removed from the opener’s spot due to the return of Shubman Gill, who has once again been handed the vice-captaincy in the side.
There are no openings at No. 3 and No. 4 either, as Tilak Varma and captain Suryakumar Yadav are locked into those places. Hence, it is likely that Samson, desperate to get himself into the playing XI as the preferred wicketkeeper-batter, is trying his luck at the No. 5 spot.
Samson has not batted much in the middle order position in T20Is. For the Indian team, he has played 5 matches in the No. 5 position and has scored only 62 runs at a strike rate of 131.91. In the Indian Premier League, he has batted only 3 times in that position and scored a total of 34 runs.
Samson would need to prove his credentials in the Kerala Cricket League if he wants to retain his position in India’s Asia Cup playing XI. He is in competition with Jitesh Sharma, who has played as a specialist finisher for Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In the 2025 season, Jitesh scored 261 runs in the lower middle order at a massive strike rate of 176.35.
India squad for Asia Cup T20: 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
Stand-bys: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal
– Ends