Asia Cup 2025: Indian cricket team's practice sessions drop big hint on Sanju Samson's selection

Having a problem of plenty is always a good problem to have. That is what the Indian team is going through in the shortest format in recent years. Under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, India won the 2024 T20 World Cup and while he along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired after the final, the transition process was smooth for India.

Suryakumar Yadav took over the reins and while he was a surprising choice at the time due to Hardik Pandya's credentials, the former has continued the momentum set by Rohit, in fact bettering it as well in terms of win percentage. Apart from the victories, what has stood out is India's enviable bench strength in this format. Sanju Samson, who played as regular opener after the World Cup, raked in three hundreds in this phase, while fellow opener Abhishek Sharma has registered two centuries. It must be noted that India have the luxury of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as potential options for the opening slot.

It seemed like Samson and Abhishek would be the openers for the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup next year but with Gill's return to the side and elevation to vice-captaincy, that is unlikely. With Gill being part of the leadership group and his obvious preference for opening the batting, he is all but set to open the batting in the Asia Cup. India's net sessions in preparation for the Asia Cup in Dubai have also indicated the same with Samson barely doing much batting in the nets. Gill alongside Abhishek batted long stints, even teaming up as a pair for considerable duration, hinting at what India's opening combination is likely to be.

If Gill and Abhishek do end up opening the batting, Samson's only possible spot in the XI will be in the middle order where he has barely batted for India or in the IPL. Opening and no.3 have been his preferred slots with the odd occasion seeing him at the no.4 spot. For India, the wicket-keeper batter spot in the middle order means Jitesh Sharma will have the edge, more so after his antics in RCB's victorious campaign in IPL 2025. The net sessions also indicate the same, with Jitesh have an extended hit in the nets alongside Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma. There was also Shivam Dube who actually did a lot of bowling but not so much batting.

Dube is unlikely to be in the starting XI but should India want an extra bowling option, then it could see Rinku Singh sitting out. However, at this point, what is clear is regarding Samson's selection in the XI. The Kerala batter is unlikely to be part of India's XI in their tournament opener and barring injuries, he could find himself on the sidelines through the Asia Cup. There is also an injury cloud over Samson who appeared to be limping a bit in practice. That could just make the selection headache a lot easier, although even if he does get fit, Samson isn't expected to start.