Selection committee chief Ajit Agarkar announced India's 15-member squad for Asia Cup 2025 on Tuesday through a press-conference. While Sanju Samson did get a place in the squad, Shubman Gill was also added and was also handed the vice-captaincy. This means that the latter is pretty much guaranteed to feature in every match for the Men in Blue in the tournament. This could lead to Samson getting axed from the playing XI as there are already a lot of talks about Gill opening the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma.
Though it was the pair of Samson and Abhishek which was opening the batting for India in their last few T20I assignments, Gill's selection may lead to a massive change in the order for the side. If this does end up happening, then Samson will either slip down the batting order or will be made to sit on the bench during the continental tournament.
Gandhi was critical of Samson for not being consistent
Amid all these rumours, former India selector Devang Gandhi shared his views on Samson's selection in the Men in Blue's squad for Asia Cup. He remarked that the 30-year-old had failed to remain consistent not just on the international circuit but also in IPL. Gandhi further went on to highlight the wicketkeeper-batter's poor batting display in India's last T20I assignment which was a five-match series against England at home. Notably, Samson only managed to hit a total of 51 runs in the series and failed to register any big scores.
"You can't ignore the talent Samson has. But he is already close to 31. If he couldn't seal his place, it's because he could never be consistent, even in the IPL. There are obvious issues with him playing the heavy ball," Gandhi told The Times of India.
"He probably fell behind because he struggled to play the pace of England's bowling attack at home. But if he can show he is flexible enough, he can finally seal his spot," he added.
Gandhi further opined that if Samson will go on to score runs consistently from down the order in Asia Cup, then he may very well be able to cement his place in the playing XI.
"Samson has a great opportunity here if he shows the willingness to be flexible and cash in lower down the order," Gandhi stated.
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Meanwhile, India will begin their Asia Cup campaign with the clash against UAE on September 10 before facing-off arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14. Their group stage will come to a conclusion with the match against Oman on September 19. Suryakumar Yadav & Co's main aim will definitely be to win a record 9th Asia Cup title in their history.