Asia Cup 2025: Will Sanju Samson be dropped for Jitesh Sharma against Bangladesh? Fans divided on social media

Will it be another walk in the park for Suryakumar Yadav-led India or will it be Bangladesh doing the ‘naagin’ dance in Dubai on September 24?

The Men in Blue are undefeated in the tournament, starting off the Super Fours stage with a convincing six-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday. Though the on- and off-field drama involving the two teams have hogged the limelight, there is no denying that India have been largely clinical in the Asia Cup so far.

The numbers, too, are in favour of India, having lost only once in the 17 matches they have played against the ‘Bangla Tigers’ in T20s.

However, given the unpredictable nature of the format and the recent rivalry between the two teams (or rather, the fans), the match may not be as lopsided as expected. The India batters have largely come to the party, with openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill leading from the front at strike rates of nearly 210 and 158 rate respectively.

The only weak link, if one has to pick one, in India’s batting lineup is wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, a natural top-order player who is being slotted in the middle-order to accommodate others. To be fair, it would be harsh to call him a weak link, given that he got the chance to bat in only two of India’s four matches and won the Player of the Match award in one. But, such is the competition for each slot in this Indian batting order, that a couple of ‘failures’ are enough to make one lose his spot. The 30-year-old from Kerala scored a match-winning 56 against Oman coming in at number 3, but consumed 45 balls. Against Pakistan, he struggled to time the ball, labouring to a 17-ball 13 before falling to Haris Rauf to an attempted cross-batted swipe.

The knives are out on social media, with netizens calling for Jitesh Sharma to be included in the playing XI in place of Samson. A designated finisher and a proper lower middle-order batter, Sharma had an impactful season at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru this year, helping them lift their maiden IPL title. He scored 261 runs in 15 matches at an average of 37.29 and a strike rate of 176.35, with a highest score of 85*. He also scored of 24 runs off 10 balls against Punjab Kings in the final. Sharma’s last T20I match for India was in January 2024, where he scored 0 runs off 2 balls against Afghanistan.

Another section of fans want Samson to be given a fair run, in the top order.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, would be hoping that pacer Mustafizur Rahman and their two spinners – leg-break Rishad Hossain and off-spinner Mahedi Hasan – restrict India to a manageable total if they succeed in bowling first. Their batters, with skipper Litton Das (strike rate of 129 plus) and Towhid Hridoy (124 plus) shouldering the weight of the batting department, may not inspire much confidence if you look at the numbers, but an impactful innings may change the complexion of the game.

India:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Bangladesh:

Litton Das (captain, wicketkeeper), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin.