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India stormed into the Asia Cup 2025 final with a dominant 41-run win over Bangladesh in their second Super Four match on September 24. However, despite the comprehensive win, the match brought something to ponder about for Team India, particularly during the first innings. After Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field, sending Suryakumar Yadav and his team out to bat, India's frequent shuffling of the batting order came under intense scrutiny as the Bangladesh bowlers efficiently exposed weaknesses in the lineup.
Varun Aaron slams Sanju Samson's batting demotion
The innings was anchored by opener Abhishek Sharma, who delivered a sensational knock of 75 runs off just 37 balls, an innings peppered with six fours and five sixes. Unfortunately, the rest of the batting order faltered, with key players like Shivam Dube (2), Suryakumar (5), and Tilak Varma (5) all registering single-digit scores. Adding to the batting woes, Suryakumar was also deemed partially responsible for the crucial run-out of Abhishek Sharma, a dismissal that resulted from a major mix-up.
The strategic decisions throughout the innings drew sharp criticism, notably the demotion of Sanju Samson to the number 8 position in the batting order. India started promisingly, posting 72/0 in the powerplay and reaching 112/2 after 11 overs. Yet, a dramatic slowdown followed, with the team only managing to add 56 runs for the loss of four wickets in the final nine overs. The former India cricketer Varun Aaron expressed his confusion over the decision not to utilize Samson earlier, questioning the move in a discussion with ESPNcricinfo.
"They thought they could get Dube on to take down the spinners. But Sanju Samson is another option; he could have been slotted in early today. We know how he enjoys (batting) slightly up top," he told ESPNcricinfo.
Before the start of the Asia Cup, Sanju Samson was consistently opening for India in T20 Internationals. However, the return of Shubman Gill to the opener slot has significantly changed Samson's role, leading to him batting at number three only once across the five games played so far.
This change was most noticeable in the match against Bangladesh. Samson was entirely unused, with the team management opting to send Axar Patel ahead of him in the batting order. Axar came in after the fall of the fifth wicket in the 15th over, but he failed to provide the late acceleration the innings needed, managing an unimpactful 10 not out off 15 balls.
"Axar ahead of Samson? I do not understand it. The man (Samson) got three T20I centuries last year, you've got to cut him slack", said Aaron.
"There's not much difference in the strike rates of the Indian batters. It is not like we have four batters who strike above 150 and have a couple who can only play run a ball. Every batter in the top eight can bat at a very high strike rate. I don't see any motive behind so much chopping and changing in the batting line-up", he concluded.
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