- By Namrata Vijay
- Fri, 12 Sep 2025 07:35 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Asia Cup 2025: The Men in Blue had a flying start to their campaign during the ongoing continental tournament as they thrashed the UAE on Wednesday. Under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, they skittled the host out for just 57 runs and then chased the target in 4.3 overs.
Irrespective of Team India's win, what grabbed everyone's attention was Sanju Samson's batting position in the middle order. Known for his brilliant stroke play, Samson has played brilliantly as an opener, scoring 522 runs at a staggering average of 32.63 and a strike rate of 178.77.
He was still promoted down the batting order as Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill opened the innings for the Men in Blue, and Suryakumar Yadav batted at the No.3 position.
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The opening pair of Abhishek and Gill is still fine, but the team management's decision to play Samson as a middle-order batter will do them more harm than good during the ongoing tournament.
Why Is Sanju Samson's Demotion A Questionable Strategy?
| Criterion | In top-order (1-3) | In middle order (4-7) |
| Innings | 152 | 67 |
| Runs | 4733 | 1137 |
| Average | 34.80 | 19.27 |
| Strike Rate | 145.05 | 124.80 |
| Boundary runs % | 63.21 | 54.17 |
Less experience as a middle-order batter
The stats shown in the table above show Sanju Samson's performance at the top order compared to the middle order in the shortest format in both international and domestic matches.
These stats clearly show that Samson has thrived as a top-order batter after playing in 152 matches while batting between the no.1 and no.3 positions, as compared to playing in 67 matches as a middle-order batter.
Performance dips when Samson plays in the middle order
He had performed consistently as a top-order batter. At the same time, his average had also dipped from 34.80 to 19.27 when he bats in the middle-order.
At the same time, he has been struggling to perform in the middle-order, as was seen when his strike rate was just 124.80 in these positions.
Since he performs well as a top-order batter, he has a hard time smashing fours as a middle-order batter. After playing in 67 matches, he hasn't been able to improve his numbers, and that shows how inconsistent he is as a middle-order batter in T20Is.
How Can India's Tactic Backfire On Them In Asia Cup?
The Indian team management is stopping Sanju Samson from playing in similar game situations where he is most comfortable.
Although the team might not be affected by Samson's change in batting position against a weaker team in this tournament, when they play against a formidable bowling attack, they will have a hard time, as the team will depend on Samson, the middle-order batter.
At such a time, the senior wicketkeeper-batter will face a challenging time to up his ante as a middle-order batter and take the team across the line.
Conclusion
And this is why the team management's plan to make Samson play as a middle-order might backfire on the Indian team in this tournament. Looking at the way Samson has performed as a middle-order batter in this format, there is a high chance that this experiment might not produce the desired results.
If the team management can't make him play as a top-order batter, then they should include Jitesh Sharma as a middle-order batter to make sure that the team bounces back after suffering a batting collapse.