Former Indian chief selector MSK Prasad has backed Sanju Samson to bat in the top order in the Asia Cup. Prasad said Samson has proved his mettle while batting in the top three in T20s and he should not be sidelined in the continental tournament.

After Shubman Gill was appointed as India’s vice-captain for the Asia Cup, there have been doubts over Samson’s place in the team. It has been reported that Jitesh Sharma can be preferred ahead of Samson for the finisher role and Gill might open the innings with Abhishek Sharma.

However, Prasad wants Samson to bat at one drop in the eight-team tournament. The Kerala batter has scored three T20I centuries in the last 12 matches but he could only manage 51 runs in five games against England in 2025 as he was troubled by short-pitched deliveries. 

Samson was in fine form in the Kerala Cricket League as he has scored 368 runs in five innings at an average of 73.60 and a strike rate of 186.80 while leading Kochi Blue Tigers.

“If Sanju is slotted at number 3, then he will play. He has even scored back-to-back centuries in South Africa batting higher up. In the pecking order, he comes ahead of Jitesh. But if he’s not batting at 3, then I don’t see him finding a place at 5 or 6. In my view, the batting order should be: Sanju at 3, Suryakumar at 4, and then someone like Rinku at 6. That’s the ideal balance,” MSK Prasad told the Times of India.

“Jitesh is a better finisher, no doubt. He understands that role well. Sanju, on the other hand, has always been most effective batting up the order. So it really depends on what the team management wants. If they need a top-order wicketkeeper, then Sanju is the obvious choice. But if they feel the top order is settled and need a finisher, then Jitesh might get the nod. Either way, it’s a good problem to have, but to be honest, what wrong did Sanju do to be sidelined? He has scored hundreds in South Africa, and you can’t ignore that,” he added.

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai.