The Asia Cup 2025 is just a day away, with Hong Kong locking horns against Afghanistan in the curtain-raiser game. India will lock horns against the UAE in their first match on September 10 at the Dubai International Stadium.
Ahead of the first game, the management still faces a difficult task in finalising the playing XI and, most importantly, in integrating Shubman Gill into the side. There is no hiding that the Men in Blue had a stable opening pair - Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, but with Gill's return to the T20I set-up, the management is busy fixing something that was never broken in the first place.
Why Sanju Face The Axe And Not Try Gill Somewhere Else
Nonetheless, chatters are that Gill will get to open the innings, alongside Abhishek, while Sanju, who was India's leading run-getter in T20Is in 2024 with 436 runs, is now struggling to find a place in the team.
Samson is likely to be hit with two blows, firstly getting replaced by Gill, who has yet to play a solitary T20I in a year, and then being behind Jitesh Sharma in the pecking order to be India's primary wicket-keeper and play in the middle-order.
Amid the whole debate about a new place for Samson, this article will explore the possibilities of Gill being demoted in the batting order if he is certain to play all games and how the management and Gautam Gambhir can draw inspiration from Gill's Test journey.
Gill and Samson's T20I Stats Since 2024 T20 World Cup
Data
Sanju Samson
Shubman Gill
Matches
12
8
Innings
12
8
Runs
436
266
Highest Score
111
66
Bat Avg
43.60
38.00
Strike Rate
180.20
133.00
50s
1
2
100s
3
0
4s
35
22
6s
31
6
Why Gambhir Needs A Leaf Out Of Gill's Test Career
It is worth noting that Shubman Gill has played 21 T20Is and never batted anywhere other than the opening slot. However, he had a similar situation in Test cricket when he featured just as an opener for the initial part of his career, but was demoted down the order after Pujara's exit, which turned out to be a great gamble.
The decision to demote Gill to No.3 and No.4 was heavily criticised by the cricket pundits and Gill's father, who was not in favour of disrupting the 26-year-old's batting position.
However, to many surprises, Shubman has actually done well for India in the middle-order, far better than what his stats were at the top-order. Decoding his numbers, the 26-year-old has 874 runs in 29 innings, averaging 36.
Meanwhile, batting at No.3, has 1019 runs in 37.74. Further, batting at No.4, he has played five matches and amassed 743 runs, averaging a whopping 82.55. Thus, the Gambhir management, known for taking risks and experimenting, can bring in Gill in the middle-order by taking a leaf from his Test career.
Gill's Test Stats
Data
Opener
No.3
No.4
Tests
17
17
5
Innings
53
30
9
Runs
874
1019
743
Average
36.58
37.74
82.55
100s
2
3
4
Gill's Middle-Order Demotion An Opportunity To Adapt Australia Strategy
Here is how Gill can be fit in the middle-order and what the playing XI can look like.
With Gill in the middle-order, it will give the top-four batters - Abhishek, Samson, Tilak and Surya to follow India's aggressive intent and go all guns blazing without any restrictions.
However, in case of an early collapse, Gill can be the stable one and play the perfect anchor role by being the reliable one to put a decent total on the board.
Gill's inclusion in the middle-order can be a similar strategy adopted by Australia, where they have firepower at the top and the anchors in the middle to allow top-order batters to go full power without restrictions.
Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir - (Source : AFP)
