Former Indian fast bowler RP Singh has shed light on India’s top-order batting combination for the Asia Cup. After Shubman Gill’s appointment as India’s vice-captain, there are doubts about Sanju Samson’s place in the team.
Jitesh Sharma could be preferred as the first-choice wicket-keeper bat as he has better numbers while finishing the innings. However, Singh highlighted that Sanju Samson has a better strike rate than Shubman Gill in T20Is.
Samson has a T20I strike rate of 152.39 whereas Gill has a strike rate of 139.28 in the shortest format. Gill can play the anchor role while batting in the top order whereas Samson can play more aggressively.
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. On the other hand, Gill scored 754 runs in five Test matches against England.
RP Singh said on his YouTube Channel, “There is another headache about batting order because Shubman Gill is the vice-captain; he will cement a place. He opened in IPL and played explosive innings. You also need a player who can rotate in the match. He’s brilliant at that. But the strike rate of Shubman Gill (Strike rate of 139.28) hasn’t been as great as Sanju Samson’s. Is it a challenge for Team India, or will they sort out to form a batting combination where they can use Shubman Gill’s expertise?”
“Shubman Gill has a good opportunity. His strike rate is 139. He can improve that; I am speaking about the T20 Indian team. Apart from this, he’s been better in IPL,” he added.
On the other hand, the former UP bowler said Suryakumar Yadav will need to enhance himself as a skipper in the continental tournament. SKY has led in 15 T20Is after taking over the captaincy baton from Rohit Sharma. The Indian captain has scored 258 runs in these matches at an average of 17.2.
RP said, “Suryakumar Yadav has to enhance himself as a skipper – How to form a batting order, what changes need to be made. We’ve seen his firepower as a batter, but as a captain, we have yet to see the edge, and I think we might witness that in the Asia Cup 2025.”
India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai.
