In the current Indian T20I setup, there aren’t any fixed batting positions. Harshit Rana might bat ahead of Shivam Dube, and for a while now, Axar Patel has been sent in ahead of the likes of Hardik Pandya. While this approach benefits some players, it doesn’t work for everyone. Sanju Samson might be one of those to whom this tactic hurts.

After his return to the T20I team in mid-2024, Samson played as an opener. But for the Asia Cup, he batted at number 3 and then at number 5. He had mixed results. But it seemed like the wicketkeeper was starting to get the hang of it in the middle overs. But then in the India vs Australia 2nd T20I, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav changed Samson’s batting position again.

Sanju Samson getting unfairly treated

Since he’s a top-order batter, Samson was sent at 3 since Shubman Gill departed early at the MCG. The move didn’t work. And according to Irfan Pathan, it makes sense that it didn’t. The former Indian all-rounder pointed out that players lose their stability when their batting position gets tinkered with so often.

“As for Sanju Samson, if he keeps moving up and down the batting order like this, I’m not sure how effective that will be. I know that in T20 cricket, apart from the openers, no one really has a fixed position, and flexibility is important. But in the name of flexibility, you shouldn’t become so elastic that you lose the stability that comes with having defined roles. That’s something the Indian team really needs to pay attention to,” Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

The World Cup explained that Samson was excelling as an opener, but his role was changed, and he adapted to the requirement of playing in the middle overs. As soon as he seemed to get the hang of it, his position was changed again.

“When you keep changing a player’s role repeatedly, things naturally change. Playing against the older ball in the middle overs, which Sanju Samson did during the Asia Cup, is very different from opening the innings, where he had scored three centuries. It requires a different mindset and a lot of mental strength, along with strong backing from the team,” he added.

Needs to score runs

Pathan cautioned Samson that although Gambhir and Suryakumar may be backing him now, it only takes a couple of poor outings to change that. They have already shown that he’s dispensable; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been removed as an opener.

“There’s no doubt he’s getting the support he needs. But that support can fade quickly if a player has three or four failures in a row. Hopefully, that won’t happen with Sanju Samson,” Pathan concluded.

Samson needs to perform in the ongoing India vs Australia T20I series or the upcoming South Africa series, or else he might miss out on the 2026 T20 World Cup berth.