Sanju Samson lost his spot because ‘Shubman Gill is being groomed as future captain’: ‘They are backing players by…’

Sanju Samson's future in the Indian team is uncertain after the management has opted for Jitesh Sharma in recent matches in Australia.

India’s methods of chopping and changing with their T20I XI in recent months has not sat well with many fans and pundits, as the need for experimentation and creating suboptimal lineups to do so hasn’t pleased those involved with Indian cricket. Prime amongst these seems to be the inclusion of Shubman Gill at the top of the batting order, a player clearly seen as the leadership future of the team, but only a part of it at the expense of one of the more talented players in it.

Sanju Samson hasn't featured in India's last two matches.(AP)

Sanju Samson has sat out of India’s previous two T20 matches in the Australia series, with his form not quite clicking lower down the order. In his stead, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir have opted for Jitesh Sharma, a wicketkeeper-batter much better suited to batting lower down the order.

It will only become clear if Samson will get a shot to win his spot back when India host series at home later this year against South Africa and New Zealand, but some don’t see any way back for him. This includes Mohammed Kaif, who argued on his YouTube channel that Samson has lost his spot in a format that has grown highly specialised.

“If Sanju Samson were playing, there would be no confusion, but with Shubman Gill as vice-captain playing in all matches, Sanju Samson seems sidelined,” explained Kaif.

Jitesh Sharma's finishing expertise costs Samson

“Jitesh Sharma is seen as a better finisher at number five or six than Sanju, which works in Sharma’s favour. But because Gill is being groomed as a future captain and player, Sanju has lost his spot,” he continued. “Sanju’s record is excellent, a strike rate of around 150. But they are backing players by the batting number position now.”

Samson had made excellent headway after being chosen as one of the openers to succeed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, scoring a barrage of centuries at the top of the order when given the chance and forming a formidable partnership with Abhishek Sharma.

However, that has been sacrificed for Gill, who many see as an inferior T20 opener to Samson, but nonetheless one who will be ready to take over captaincy in the format down the line, as he has in ODI and Test cricket. Whether this sacrifice pays off will come down to India’s success in defending their T20 World Cup crown at home early in 2026.