Sanju Samson didn't help his cause, no evidence of what he can do at No.6 as India put team over individual in Asia Cup

Then, without warning, he smashed three centuries in five innings in as many weeks in October-November last. Among them were successive hundreds against Bangladesh in Hyderabad and South Africa in Durban, making him the first Indian to stack up back-to-back tons in T20Is. It seemed as if Samson had, finally, turned the corner.

Samson at his best cuts a glorious sight, full of sinewy grace, impeccable timing and effortless placement. He hardly hits a ball in anger, yet it singes the turf on its way to a date with the boundary cushions or soars through the air to scatter the spectators in the stands. He suffuses onlookers with feelgood, he puts a smile on the fans’ faces with his sheer majesty and incandescence.

But Samson is as prone to frustrating his followers as he can exhilarate. After that electric phase, he hit an almost predictable trough, managing just 52 runs in the five-match series against England at home in January-February. As much as the string of low scores, what was alarming was an eerily similar mode of dismissal – caught at various positions on the leg-side, playing the pull shot time after time despite being rushed for pace, thrice against the slippery Jofra Archer.

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It was during the last of those matches, at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, that Samson was struck on his right index finger by a lifter from Archer. The resultant fracture meant he wasn’t cleared fit to keep wickets at the beginning of Rajasthan Royals’ campaign in IPL 2025. The designated skipper filled in as Impact Player, who only batted in the first three matches, Rajasthan clearly missing his proven leadership skills. Samson had a middling season with 285 runs from nine appearances while his side had a campaign to forget, finishing ninth among ten teams.

Despite his travails against England, Samson might have felt he had done enough in the two preceding series to deserve a longer rope at the top of the batting order. But it now appears as if he must reconcile to a spell on the sidelines. The return of Shubman Gill to the T20I side after 13 months, as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy, indicates that he will slot in as one of the openers. His partner, almost certainly, will be Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma, and not necessarily because the latter ticks one of the huge projects of the Suryakumar-Gautam Gambhir leadership group – his left-handedness.

In 17 T20Is, the 25-year-old Abhishek has already slammed two centuries, striking at 193.84; his last outing for the country netted 135, off a mere 54 deliveries, against the shell-shocked Englishmen at the Wankhede. It helps that he is also a handy left-arm spinner.

A case is being made out for Samson to bat at No. 3, but how does one displace Tilak Varma, who made successive tons after asking for and getting that position from Suryakumar in South Africa? Samson has amassed almost all his T20 runs at the top of the order and there isn’t enough evidence of what he can or can’t do at No. 5 and beyond. That perhaps gives Jitesh Sharma the edge; from Jharkhand and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the spunky stumper was one of the influencers behind RCB’s march to their maiden IPL title at the 18th time of asking. His 261 runs in 11 knocks came at the frenetic strike-rate of 176.35, all in the second half of the innings.

India’s four practice sessions at the ICC Academy Oval since their arrival in Dubai last Thursday have provided a peek into which way the think-tank is aligned. Jitesh is the one who has been put through extensive wicketkeeping drills, he has batted longer and against fresher bowlers than Samson. Perhaps one is reading too much into all this, but Jitesh was present at Tuesday evening’s optional training session ahead of Wednesday’s opener against UAE while Samson wasn’t. Make of all this what you will.

If Samson does miss out, one can’t help but feel for him, but if he is brutally honest, Samson will concede that he hasn’t entirely helped his cause. He will understand that however unkind a cut that might seem, team dynamics take priority over individual aspirations. But he must also take heart from the fact that he is still very much in contention, and that all he can do is to give himself the best chance of succeeding as and when he gets the nod. Whether it is on Wednesday, or a little later.

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