Team India keeper-batter Sanju Samson was seen sitting on the sidelines and looked on as the players engaged in a practice session ahead of their Asia Cup 2025 opener. The video of the same has surfaced amid questions looming around whether the Kerala-born cricketer will feature against the UAE on September 10, Wednesday.
The spotlight remains firmly on Samson as the Asia Cup 2025 as India's campaign nears. Despite his exploits while opening for India in T20I cricket, the 30-year-old is not a certain starter in the multi-nation tournament as Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma could open the innings. On the wicketkeeping front, India have named Jitesh Sharma in the squad on the back of a promising IPL 2025 campaign for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and could be a handy option in the middle order.
Watch the below video:
"I think it's a very good headache to have for any selection committee" - Sunil Gavaskar
Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar stated in a recent interaction that Samson cannot be left in the reserves if he is in the squad and must be in the playing XI. He had said, as quoted by PTI:
"If you take somebody like Sanju Samson in the core team, then you can't leave him out in the reserves. Yes, I think it's a very good headache to have for any selection committee that you have two capable batters and somebody like Sanju Samson who can maybe even bat at three and if needed come down at six as a finisher. And Jitesh has also done well in the recently concluded IPL, where he's played exceedingly well. So yes, I think it's a pleasant headache for the tour selection committee."
The Men in Blue are the defending champions, having won the 50-overs edition in 2023.
