The major debate regarding India's T20I squad is about one of the opening spots. While Abhishek Sharma has undisputedly claimed one of the spots, there is still a lot of talk around who his partner should be. As things stand, vice-captain Shubman Gill is the first-choice partner for Sharma, ahead of Sanju Samson who smashed three T20I hundreds opening the batting in 2024.
Very few players manage to get three T20I hundreds in their entire career and this makes Samson's 2024 form exceptional. Yet, he made way for Gill at the top during the 2025 Asia Cup in UAE. That move was a surprise, given Samson's form and his aggressive combo with Sharma at the top.
While Gill has retained his spot at the top, he now has no fifties in his last 17 T20I innings, following a golden duck against South Africa in Mullanpur on Thursday (December 11). Meanwhile, Samson initially got demoted to the lower middle order - an unfamiliar role for him in T20Is and now finds himself on the bench.
Given that the other keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma is more suited to a middle order/finisher role, Samson being benched is understandable. However, what about his deserved selection as opening batter? Prior to the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, captain Suryakumar Yadav made a very bizarre statement on why Gill has been preferred ahead of Samson.
"In terms of Sanju, yes, when he came into the circuit, he batted higher up the order. Now the thing is, other than the openers, I feel everyone has to be very flexible," said Yadav during the pre-match press conference ahead of the Cuttack T20I.
"He did really well before when he opened the innings, but Shubman [Gill] had played before him in the Sri Lanka series and so he deserved to take that spot. We gave Sanju opportunities. He was ready to bat at any number, which actually is good to see any player being very flexible, batting from three to six anywhere."
The reasoning is flawed, given how lukewarm Gill's numbers in T20Is were even before his comeback to the side during this year's Asia Cup. Gill averaged 30.42 at a strike-rate of 139.27 before his recall to the squad. Meanwhile, Samson as opener averages higher at 32.62 with a significantly better strike-rate of 178.76 including three centuries to Gill's one.
India have three more games against South Africa in this T20I series followed by five more against New Zealand in January. Gill's elevation shows that the management and BCCI are keen to make him an all-format superstar. The 26-year-old might have the potential for that too but at the moment, there is no denying that Samson deserves the opener's spot more than his vice-captain.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir might sooner than later be pressed into taking a call about Gill's spot but the Punjab batter is likely to get the entire South Africa series. However, things will turn interesting if failures continue for him, with Samson clearly in better T20 form at the moment and the World Cup not far away.
