The Gautam Gambhir way! Sanju Samson sidelined as Jitesh Sharma pushes ahead for Asia Cup XI

The ICC Academy in Dubai saw a star-studded Indian team, the defending champions, get high-quality practice. But on Monday evening, all eyes drifted towards a quiet corner where Sanju Samson sat alone, away from the middle of India’s final training session before the Asia Cup. He had arrived first, gloved up for wicketkeeping drills, even drawing applause from fielding coach T. Dilip after a sharp diving catch. Yet, once the batting rotations began, Samson cut a lonely figure.

India leaves Sanju Samson alone

The Kerala batter, who has struck three centuries in his last ten T20I innings, was made to wait. He shadow-batted, padded up, and hovered around the nets, only to be overlooked as Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya took turns in the middle. Even in previous training sessions, Jitesh was preferred batting alongside the natural starters.

Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, and Abhishek Sharma then followed, each given multiple stints. Samson eventually batted only after everyone else had finished, a net bowler feeding him a half-tracker that he mistimed. For someone trying to force his way into the XI, the optics were hard to ignore.

The signals were hardly subtle. According to PTI, head coach Gautam Gambhir had a brief but intense conversation with Samson during the keeping drills. It was a telling moment. Gambhir, who has spoken glowingly of Samson since taking charge post the 2024 T20 World Cup, now seems prepared to make a ruthless call. It was Samson only who revealed that Gambhir has given him a rope of 21 ducks. Yet, Samson is likely to face an axe over someone like Jitesh Sharma, who played his last international game 20 months ago.

Jitesh Sharma’s case, meanwhile, has only grown stronger. His role as a lower-order finisher, honed at RCB during IPL 2025, is precisely what India’s balance demands. With Gill reinstated as vice-captain and inked in at the top, the management looks set to favour power in the middle overs over the elegance of an opener forced to bat out of position.

India’s XI seems all but decided: Gill and Abhishek at the top, Tilak and Suryakumar marshalling the middle, with Pandya and Jitesh providing the finishing surge. That leaves Samson, once again, as the unlucky passenger.

Come Thursday, when India face UAE in Dubai, the reality might sink in deeper. For all of Samson’s runs in 2024, the team’s structure may have little room for him.

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