Sanju Samson In Middle Order: Why India's Questionable Asia Cup Call Needs Rethink

Samson was pushed down the order for 1st Asia Cup match vs UAE [Source: AFP]

As expected, India had a phenomenal start to their Asia Cup 2025 campaign, steamrolling the United Arab Emirates in the second group-stage match of the tournament. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India bowled out the home team for 57 runs before cruising to the target in just 4.3 overs. 

Despite India's emphatic victory, one thing that grabbed the limelight was Sanju Samson's demotion to the middle order. Hailed for his scintillating stroke-play, Samson has been impressive as an opener for India, slamming 522 runs, including three centuries at a magnificent average of 32.63 and a strike rate of 178.77. 

However, despite his exploits as a top-order player, Sanju Samson was pushed down the order, with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill playing as the openers and Suryakumar Yadav entering the middle at number three. 

Although an opening pair of Abhishek and Gill is perfectly fine, India's plan to use Samson in the middle order is an experiment that might prove costly for them as the tournament progresses. 

Why Is Sanju Samson's Demotion A Questionable Strategy?

(Sanju Samson's performance comparison at top order and middle order in T20 format)

Observation and Inference

Less experience as a middle order batter

• The data presented in the above table compares Sanju Samson's performance in the top-order (at batting positions 1, 2 and 3) to that in the middle order (at batting positions 4, 5, 6 and 7) in T20s, combining international matches as well as the domestic games the Kerala batter has played in the format. 
• From the table, it's quite clear that Samson has primarily played as a top order batter, featuring in 152 games at 1-3 batting positions as opposed to only 67 outings in the middle order. 

Performance dips when Samson plays in the middle order

• Sanju Samson has great numbers as a top-order batter. Meanwhile, his average drops from 34.80 to a meagre 19.27 when he bats in the middle order. 
• Most importantly, Samson struggles to up the ante in the middle order, as evidenced by his strike rate of just 124.80 while batting at those positions. 
• While he enjoys his time as a top-order batter, Samson finds it significantly tough to hit boundaries as a middle order batter. Despite playing 67 innings, Samson's failure to improve his numbers highlights his persistent woes to nail the role of a middle-order batter in the shortest format. 

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How Can India's Tactic Backfire On Them In Asia Cup?

• Technically, the Indian think tank's tactic is preventing Sanju Samson from facing the game situations where he performs more efficiently. 
• While India may not be affected by Samson's misplaced batting position against the lower-ranked teams, Asia Cup sides with more formidable bowling attacks can definitely challenge their top-order, demanding a game-breaking performance from Samson, the middle order batter. 
• In such a scenario, the experienced keeper-batter might have a daunting task at hands- to level-up his game in the middle order and save the Men in Blue from a potential precarious situation. 

Conclusion

Therefore, our analysis finds that the plan to allot a middle-order slot to Samson might backfire on the Indian team in the Asia Cup. Considering how Samson has fared as a middle-order batter in T20 cricket, chances are high that the experiment will conclude on a disappointing note. 

So, if India can't assign him a top-order batter's role, they should ideally bring Jitesh Sharma in the middle order to ensure a better output in case their batting lineup crumbles. 

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