TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Sunil has been driving a taxi in Dubai for the past 18 years and vividly recalls two occasions when he had the chance to drop
Sanju Samson — who hails from his own village, Vizhinjam, a coastal town near Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala — to the airport.
There is a glint in his eyes when he talks about Sanju. "Call it destiny or anything. I have dropped him twice at the Dubai airport. One time, he was alone, the other time he was with his brother (Sally). What a boy. A true gentleman," he shares.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In two of the four matches India have played in the ongoing Asia Cup, the loudest cheer any batter has received while walking out to bat has been for Sanju Samson.
At 30, Sanju Samson has been asked to do something he has never done in his T20 career. He has been a top-order batter for his Indian Premier League (
IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals and for India. He has either batted as an opener or at No. 3.
In this Asia Cup, he has been given an unfamiliar role.
Sanju Samson scored a scratchy 45-ball 56 on a sluggish Abu Dhabi pitch against Oman and looked completely out of sorts during his 17-ball stay against Pakistan in Dubai. He struggles when the ball gets soft, and with
Jitesh Sharma waiting in the wings, having done extremely well for the IPL 2025 winner Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at 5 and 6, it will be interesting to see how long India persist with Sanju Samson.
Sanju Samson’s numbers as a non-opener for India don’t add up well. In 23 matches, he has scored only 408 runs, with an average of 20.40 and a strike rate of 121.8. Bangladesh would be looking to target him with spin in the middle overs when they square off on Wednesday (September 24).
India’s assistant coach
Ryan ten Doeschate feels Sanju is still "figuring out" how to play that role in the middle order.
"There's two outings now, two decent chances, and he's still figuring out how to play that role," ten Doeschate said.
"I think the wicket was a little bit tired in the Pakistan game. But certainly, with the way Shubman Gill and
Abhishek Sharma are going at the top, and with your captain (
Suryakumar Yadav) batting at three and the way Tilak (Verma) has played, we're really looking for a No. 5. So we believe Sanju is the best man for that job and we’ve got no doubt he’ll figure out how to play that role in the future."
However, there is no question over Sanju’s place in the playing XI. Head coach
Gautam Gambhir has famously told him that he wouldn’t drop him from the team even if he scored "21 ducks." Gambhir wasn’t the only one to back him. Samson revealed that Suryakumar Yadav, during the Duleep Trophy in 2024, promised him a stretch of seven matches as an opener.
But with Shubman Gill’s elevation as T20I vice-captain, Sanju, who has done extremely well at the top with Abhishek Sharma, lost his spot and is currently floating in the middle order.
After the six-wicket win over Pakistan, captain Suryakumar Yadav made it clear that barring the two openers, India will go with a flexible middle order.
Sanju Samson bats during the Asia Cup. (AP)
"I think everyone should be flexible in batting except for the openers. Because we have left-handers, right-handers, power-hitters, and some players who can play the game well. So it's very important to be flexible," he explained.
"So irrespective of the need of the hour, if someone has scored 50 at No. 3 or No. 4, and there is a requirement to bat at No. 5 or 6 in the next game, then the batsmen have accepted that we will bat like that.
"And this is how the team will run. Because in this format, I feel that if players create impact and score small but important runs, then I feel it will be a very dangerous team."
On Wednesday against Bangladesh -- against whom Sanju cracked a 40-ball hundred last year in Hyderabad, will have another chance to cement his place in an unfamiliar role in that "flexible" middle order.
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