Is there any advantage in taking part in Sanju Samson within the center order over Jitesh Sharma?

India’s top four for the Asia Cup opener against the UAE seems settled. Abhishek Sharma will open with vice-captain Shubman Gill. Tilak Varma and captain Suryakumar Kumar at three and four. That leaves the positions of five to eight.

We don’t know who will bat at which position, but it’s safe to assume that Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya will occupy two spots. That once again leaves us with two spots. And just four players remain: Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma, and Rinku Singh.

Dube has an advantage over Rinku, as he’s considered an all-rounder, but the latter has been bowling off-spin of late and has been doing well in the Uttar Pradesh Premier League (UPT20) 2025. Of course, you need one wicketkeeper. So, only one of Samson and Jitesh will make the cut.

Does Sanju Samson warrant ahead of Jitesh Sharma?

Jitesh was perhaps the best finisher in the Indian Premier League (IPL). There isn’t a better middle order wicketkeeper batter in India than him. But is there any argument as to why Samson should play as India’s wicketkeeper over Jitesh in the Asia Cup?

Everyone knows that Samson has got that flexibility. He can bat at all positions. The batter from Kerala has done so for India and in the IPL. But sample size and success go against him. Out of the 172 times he’s batted in the IPL, Samson has played at number five or lower just 11 times.

That’s way too low to consider him as a lower-order hitter, which Jitesh is. For India, that number is even lower. Just 7 of Samson’s 38 innings have come at number five or lower. His average and strike rate aren’t great either. In contrast, Jitesh has batted just 6 times above the number five position in his IPL career. For India, Jitesh has batted once above 5.

Sanju Samson’s IPL stats by position

One can’t be certain whether the selectors have told him or it’s a personal decision, but Samson has decided to play in the middle order for the Kochi Blue Tigers in the Kerala Cricket League (KCL). The move hasn’t worked out well so far. His innings, batting at number 6, resulted in a 13 off 22 score.

Samson’s heart is in the right place. He wants to show that he can do the job at any position for India. But he hasn’t really batted there. All his success for the Rajasthan Royals has come in the top order, while for Team India, it’s been opening.

After an underwhelming England series and IPL 2025 season, this was always on the cards. And Gill’s inclusion, that too as the vice-captain, just sealed Samson’s fate. He can try to show what he can do in the KCL, but it seems virtually impossible for him to play ahead of Jitesh in the Asia Cup.