'Everyone has to be flexible...': Suryakumar Yadav explains why Shubman Gill was handed opening spot over Sanju Samson in T20Is

India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav feels that handing the opening spot to Shubman Gill over Sanju Samson was the right call. Suryakumar remarked that Gill deserves to open the innings and urged the other players to be a little more flexible with the batting positions. This comes after Gill had been handed the opening spot as soon as he made his return to T20Is in the Asia Cup while the in-form Samson was demoted down the order.

While Gill wasn't able to settle in the format in the first few games, Samson's form also deteriorated while batting in the middle-order. This led to both of them having forgettable Asia Cup campaigns despite India's triumph. Despite the mediocre performances, it is likely that the two's batting positions will not change for the upcoming South Africa T20I series.

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“In terms of Sanju, when he came onto the circuit, he batted higher up the order. Now the thing is, other than the openers, I feel everyone else has to be very flexible. He really did well when he opened the innings. But Shubman has played before him in the Sri Lanka series, so he deserved to take that spot,” Suryakumar said at the pre-match press-conference.

Suryakumar on Samson's future with the team

When asked if Samson was in the scheme of things, Suryakumar responded affirmatively, stating that the 30-year-old is ready to bat on any position in the middle-order. He further stated that having two wicketkeepers in the playing XI isn't a negative thing.

“We gave Sanju Samson opportunities; he was ready to bat at any number. It’s good to see a player being ready to bat in any position,” Suryakumar stated.

“From 3–6, anywhere. I have told this to all the batters: other than the openers, everyone has to be flexible. Both are in the scheme of things. It’s always good to have both of them as part of the squad. One can open, one can bat lower down the order. Both can do all the roles. It’s an asset to our team and a good headache to have,” he added.

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India squad for South Africa T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain)*, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.