This Batter Is Playing Virat Kohli Role for Team India in Asia Cup 2025

On Wednesday, September 10, India's Asia Cup 2025 campaign kicked off against the home team, the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, putting an end to the speculation around their starting line-up. A significant portion of the pre-match conversation focused on Sanju Samson's position in the team, with many wondering if the wicketkeeper-batter would hold his spot after Shubman Gill's much-anticipated comeback to the T20I line-up after over a year.

According to a number of commentators and former players, Samson may be the player to go up to the top of the order to make room for Gill. Over the years, one of the best batsmen in the world, Virat Kohli, held the spot of number three, and he used to anchor the innings for India. Since he is now retired from the shortest format of the game, India looks to fill the space with a new batter. However, the ideal candidate to take the spot is Suryakumar Yadav. Suryakumar Yadav is an explosive batter and can anchor the innings well, like Virat used to do.

In recent months, Samson and one of the best T20 batsmen in the world, Abhishek Sharma, had developed a successful opening partnership, scoring 267 runs at a strike rate of more than 170 in 12 T20I innings. With him as opener, India has not lost a T20I series since the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Kerala batsman has amassed 861 T20I runs at a strike rate of 142, including three hundreds. But in Dubai, Gill has returned to the top after a year away, while Samson has been moved to the middle order. The cricketer from Kerala maintained his spot in the starting lineup as India decided to start Gill and Abhishek Sharma. Originally chosen over Jitesh as wicketkeeper, Samson is now expected to adjust to a middle-order position.

Will Sanju Samson Face a Problem for His Role?

Although it will be difficult to bat out of position, Samson and his supporters will find solace in their belief in him. The management gave him a prize for his outstanding T20I play over the previous 12 months, when he was among India's most reliable players. Having batted at No. 4 11 times between 2020 and 2024, accumulating 213 runs at an average of 21.30, Samson is no stranger to the middle order. He also made five appearances at No. 5, but with little success. When he was brought back as an opener in 2024, he had a comeback in T20Is, scoring 512 runs at a strike rate of 182, including three hundreds.

India Registers Their Biggest Win

The reigning world champions defeated the United Arab Emirates by nine wickets after chasing a 58-run mark in only 4.3 overs to start their campaign in the eight-team continental championship. For the Men in Blue, this was the quickest chase in T20 international history. In a rain-shortened match against Australia in Ranchi in 2017, they overcame 49 in 5.3 overs, the previous best. In a final match, they had chased 89 in 6.3 overs against Scotland in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.

However, India's Net Run Rate significantly increased as a result of the decisive win, which pushed them to the top of Group A. On Sunday, September 14, the previous champions will focus on their highly anticipated matchup with bitter rivals Pakistan in Dubai. On the other hand, Pakistan's campaign against Oman will begin on Friday.