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Justice Delayed Or Denied? Destiny Sneers As Samson's Asia Cup Fate Turns Upside Down

Debashis Sarangi

Sanju Samson [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]Sanju Samson [Source: @mufaddal_vohra/X]

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." 

Former American president Franklin Roosevelt's famous quote seems appropriate for Sanju Samson, who has had it as his companion throughout his career. While the competition with stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul didn't help Samson's cause initially, the stylish batter managed to recover from early setbacks with a string of sensational performances as an opener in T20I cricket. 

However, just when his career seemed ready to take off, the return of Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma gave rise to India's alternative plans for the Asia Cup, jeopardising Samson's chances. Can he hang on to his spot, or will he slip through the cracks once more? 

The second chance that revitalised Samson's T20I career

Hailed as one of the most prodigious talents, Sanju Samson made his debut way back in 2015. However, what truly shaped his T20I career was a well-deserved second chance, which he got after Rohit Sharma's retirement. 

With Rishabh Pant's persistent lean patch leading to his ouster from T20Is, Samson grabbed the opportunity with both hands, giving his T20I career a lifeline through some highly impactful knocks, albeit as an opener. 

Samson has been chiefly active as an opener in the IPL. Also, considering his fearless approach could torment the toughest of the opponents inside the powerplay itself, it made sense from India's perspective to utilise his firepower at the top order. 

It's needless to say how well Samson has nailed the aggressor's role, forming a fearsome opening duo along with Abhishek Sharma. 3 T20I centuries in twelve outings: Samson has shown that when he hits, it stays a hit. Although consistency has been an issue for him, it's something the stroke players have to compromise due to the risk factor involved in their game. 

Brand vs Performance: The Determining Factors of Samson's T20I future

Although he has struck 487 runs at an average of 34.78 and a blistering strike rate of 171.47 since the completion of last year's T20 World Cup, Samson, quite bizarrely, seems likely to get displaced from his preferred opening slot in the Asia Cup. 

The Indian think tank sees Shubman Gill as its all-format captain, which is why the Punjab batter received an Asia Cup recall, having played his last T20I back in July last year. 

Furthermore, Gautam Gambhir's vehemence to maintain a right-left batting combination throughout the lineup indicates Gill's potential pairing with Abhishek, not Samson.

Abhishek is well within his rights to claim one of the opening positions, having performed remarkably since being given a consistent run.

However, with due respect to Gill's incredible batting abilities, his T20I comeback, despite him averaging and striking less than Samson, can be called anything but justified from a neutral point of view. 

A call that can disturb India's settled opening combination right at the beginning of a crucial series may not be supported by the traditional cricketing rule book. However, the modern-day game of brand building seems to be the latest addition to Samson’s long list of nemeses, of which a few are undoubtedly self-inflicted. 

The comeback of Jitesh Sharma: Destiny's warning to Samson

The IPL 2025 was a game-changer for Jitesh Sharma, who managed to get a wildcard entry in India’s Asia Cup squad following his heroics for RCB in the tournament. While Jitesh’s remarkable turnaround changed his fortunes, it also gave India a genuine chance to form an alternative batting lineup without Sanju Samson. 

Jitesh is a genuine middle-order player, and with Hardik Pandya being India’s lone warrior in the slog overs, the keeper-batter from Vidarbha can be a valuable addition to the finishing department. Therefore, it may sound logical to fit Shubman Gill at the top order and keep Jitesh at six to ensure a formidable batting lineup. 

But then the question arises, where will India fit Samson? If they ask him to drop himself down the order, it will be unfair for him, as he is a top-order player. In such a scenario, justice seems like an elusive dream for the Kerala batter, who has done absolutely nothing wrong in recent times. 

Fortune favours the brave, and Samson is brave enough

“Fortune favours the brave”, an idiom that encourages people to take adversities head-on, seems quite farcical when it comes to Sanju Samson. It’s been more than ten years since the swashbuckling batter burst onto the scene as the next big thing from Kerala, but the buzz of his talent has not transformed into a loud roar yet. 

Samson has himself to blame partially, given his returns weren’t satisfactory in the early phase of his career. Having said that, it’s also true that a talent like his could’ve been managed better and attained greater heights than where he finds himself at the moment. 

All he can do is make his bat do the talking. In fact, he hasn’t lost his focus one bit, piling up runs at a rapid rate as an opener in the ongoing Kerala Premier League. 

It’s absolutely fine if players of Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma’s calibre are going to open in the Asia Cup, but then again, what about Samson, who has been destiny’s favourite victim in this classic hide-and-seek game?