'Bat him at No. 3’: Former India batter makes strong case for Sanju Samson ahead of T20 World Cup

NEW DELHI: With conscionable 50 days to spell for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup successful India and Sri Lanka, Team India’s numbers nary longer shriek dominance, adjacent if caller results connection immoderate comfort.As defending champions, India began their station 2024 rubric tally successful ruthless fashion, winning 17 of their adjacent 20 T20Is.

Eight scores crossed the 200 mark, 5 of them were 220 positive and 3 breached 245 mark, underlining a batting portion operating good up of the curve.

That curve has flattened since the 2025 Asia Cup. India’s wide onslaught complaint has dropped to 141.64, a worrying diminution for a broadside that had redefined intent astatine the apical of the order.

Since the Asia Cup, Abhishek Sharma remains the lone Indian batter striking supra 145. Everyone other has slowed down, and the biggest talking constituent changed to the caller opening combination.

The Sanju Samson-Abhishek Sharma concern acceptable the code for India’s surge aft the 2024 World Cup. Across 16 innings, the brace averaged 33.43 and scored astatine a blistering onslaught complaint of 193.84. That aboriginal momentum allowed India to prolong a onslaught complaint of 154.56 done the mediate overs and 169.39 astatine the death.The dynamic shifted erstwhile Shubman Gill returned to the playing XI arsenic portion of the management’s semipermanent enactment plan.

Samson, who amassed 417 runs successful 12 T20Is astatine a onslaught complaint of 183.70 with 3 centuries astatine the top, was pushed down the order. His Asia Cup returns were mixed, though helium inactive finished arsenic India’s 3rd highest run-getter with 132 runs, down Abhishek Sharma’s 314 and Tilak Varma’s 213. A solitary outing successful Australia astatine No.

3 ended without impact, aft which Samson was dropped from the playing XI.Gill’s ain returns since his comeback person been underwhelming.

In 15 matches, helium has scored 291 runs astatine an mean of 24.25 and a onslaught complaint of 137, without a azygous fifty. The numbers constituent to a batter searching for bushed astatine a clip erstwhile India’s apical bid needs clarity much than caution.Speaking astatine the JioStar Press Room up of the upcoming T20 World Cup, erstwhile India batter Robin Uthappa, who was portion of the 2007 World Cup winning squad, was wide astir the equilibrium helium wants to see. “I would not personally similar to tinker with the opening combination,” Uthappa said.

“What I would similar is to spot Sanju bat astatine No. 3, Tilak astatine No. 4 and Surya astatine No. 5. Suryakumar Yadav plays his champion cricket extracurricular the powerplay. Tilak Verma needs a pivotal relation successful this squad and that is wherefore No. 4 suits him.”Uthappa explained that placing Tilak Verma astatine No. 4 and Suryakumar Yadav astatine No. 5 would escaped up the apical order. “This gives the openers and the No. 3 presumption the authorization to spell hard,” helium said.

He past addressed Gill’s relation directly. “You tin person idiosyncratic similar Shubman Gill play that expanse anchor relation that India desperately request close now, truthful everyone other tin play aggressively astir him.

India tin inactive usage the hyper assertive batting template that has worked for them, portion Gill bats astatine a 140 to 150 onslaught rate, which is wherever helium thrives. It is akin to the relation Virat Kohli played successful the past T20 World Cup.

”The concerns, however, widen beyond Gill alone. India’s intent has besides dipped owed to Suryakumar’s prolonged thin patch. In 2025, the skipper has scored conscionable 213 runs from 20 matches astatine an mean of 14.20 and a onslaught complaint of 125.29.

With some skipper and vice-captain struggling for form, unit has inevitably shifted connected to the mediate order.At the aforesaid interaction, erstwhile India all-rounder Irfan Pathan stressed that the signifier of experimentation indispensable present travel to an end. “There has been a batch of speech astir chopping and changing,” Pathan said. “I deliberation the squad absorption was trying to recognize who tin play antithetic roles, but this is not the clip to experiment.

When the World Cup starts, it has to beryllium precise wide who is batting astatine what position.”That experimentation has been evident. In the past 2 T20I bid against Australia and South Africa, India tried aggregate options astatine No. 3, including Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and adjacent Axar Patel.Pathan besides did not fell his interest implicit Suryakumar’s form. “As a captain, you request to bat good and beryllium successful signifier going into a large tourney similar the World Cup,” helium said.

“The interest is not conscionable that helium is not scoring runs, but that his onslaught complaint is besides going down. His onslaught complaint is mostly astir 166, but implicit the past twelvemonth it has travel down to astir 119.”Referring to Abhishek Sharma’s precocious hazard attack astatine the top, Pathan said that specified a benignant volition inevitably pb to occasional aboriginal dismissals and that is acceptable. “He does not request to change,” Pathan said. “That is wherefore helium has been successful. But past the unit comes connected the mediate order. When you person an in-form Suryakumar Yadav, it becomes a wholly antithetic game. Hopefully, helium finds a mode to enactment a spot longer astatine the crease and get those runs earlier the World Cup.

”What Team India needs close present is certainty of roles. With the World Cup accelerated approaching, rediscovering tempo, fixing roles and getting their leaders backmost among the runs whitethorn substance acold much than immoderate tactical tweak.