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Sanju Samson Auditions For Asia Cup Opening Spot With 42-Ball Century In KCL

Anurag Dasgupta

Sanju Samson in action in KCL [Source: @lal__kal/x.com] Sanju Samson in action in KCL [Source: @lal__kal/x.com]

Sanju Samson failed in the last match of the Kerala Cricket League (KCL), but the champion batter roared back in style in the clash against Aries Kollam Sailors on Sunday. He was at his imperial best as the batter tore apart the opposition bowling attack and smashed a 42-ball century to audition for the Asia Cup opening spot.

The Aries Kollam Sailors bowlers looked clueless as Samson unleashed his wrath and smacked his fifty with 13 fours and five sixes, with a strike rate of 238.  His team was chasing a mammoth 237, and the opener smacked a whirlwind knock to keep his team in the hunt, Moreover, with him opening the batting and scoring runs, the choice for the second opener becomes interesting.

200-plus strike rate, Samson the right fit for opening spot?

For the last year, Samson opened the batting for India in T20Is alongside Abhishek Sharma. The duo did well, and Samson even scored 3 T20I hundreds, cementing his place in the team. However, fate had other plans as Team India brought back Shubman Gill in the T20I setup and made him the vice-captain.

With him being the vice-captain, Gill might certainly open alongside Abhishek, and that leaves Samson to find a place in the playing XI. However, with a strike rate of over 200 in the KCL match, Samson has stamped his authority, and is back in contention for the opening slot. He shares a great understanding with Abhishek, and perhaps, coach Gautam Gambhir could be tempted to include Samson at the top.

Samson dropped a major hint in the last game

In the first match of the KCL, Samson dropped himself to number 5, but his batting didn't come off. In the next game, he came out to bat at number 6 and dropped a major hint on his possible batting position. India need a finisher at number 6, and with India still needing a keeper in the playing XI, there is also a possibility that Samson could be used in a different role, than what most people assume.