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India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said Shubman Gill deserved the opening slot upon his return to the T20I squad, as he explained why the batter was preferred over Sanju Samson for the opening role. Gill displaced Samson at the top after making his comeback to India's T20I setup in the Asia Cup 2025 earlier this year.
The eight-hander has since been opening with Abhishek Sharma, while Samson has been forced to play in the middle order. Speaking to the reporters ahead of the first T20I against South Africa in Cuttack on Saturday, Suryakumar addressed the team management's decision to let Gill open the batting despite Samson having done tremendously well as an opener.
Samson was promoted as an opener for India after the T20 World Cup last year as Gill remained out of the side. The wicket-keeper batter grabbed his opportunities with both hands, smashing three centuries in just five innings. Samson became the first Indian batter to score three centuries in T20Is in a calendar year.
He also formed a destructive opening partnership with Abhishek at the top, with the duo providing India with cracking starts regularly. However, Gill's return to the T20I team in the Asia Cup 2025 saw Samson lose his opening spot to India's Test and ODI captain. Samson was dropped from the playing XI in the T20I series against Australia after managing only one fifty in five innings in the middle order.
“In terms of Sanju, when he came onto the circuit, he batted higher up the order. Now the thing is, other than the openers, I feel everyone else has to be very flexible. He really did well when he opened the innings. But Shubman has played before him in the Sri Lanka series, so he deserved to take that spot,” Suryakumar said, explaining the decision to pick Gill over Samson as opener.
Samson was moved to the middle order despite his extraordinary performances, however, the move didn't come as a surprise. With India looking at Gill as an all-format superstar and an all-format captain in the future, him taking the opening slot was inevitable once he returned to the T20 setup during the Asia Cup.
Despite losing his opening spot to Gill, Samson remains in contention for the first-choice wicket-keeper's slot in India's playing XI in T20Is, maintained Suryakumar. India's T20I skipper revealed Samson is flexible to bat at any position in the line-up and that it is a good headache to have both Samson and Jitesh Sharma competing for the wicket-keeper batter's slot as both offer different skillsets.
"We gave Sanju Samson opportunities; he was ready to bat at any number. It’s good to see a player being ready to bat in any position," Suryakumar said.
"From 3–6, anywhere. I have told this to all the batters: other than the openers, everyone has to be flexible. Both are in the scheme of things. It’s always good to have both of them as part of the squad. One can open, one can bat lower down the order. Both can do all the roles. It’s an asset to our team and a good headache to have," he added.
Jitesh pipped Samson to a spot in the playing XI for India in three matches on their tour of Australia earlier this year. Jitesh was recalled to India's T20I side after his finishing heroics for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their title-winning campaign in the IPL 2025 this year.
However, Jitesh is heading into the upcoming T20I series against South Africa on the back of rusty form for Baroda in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Jitesh managed only two 30-plus scores in six matches for Baroda in the tournament, while Samson slammed two half-centuries and two 40-plus scores in six games for Kerala in SMAT 2025.
