Asia Cup 2025 | Curious case of Sanju Samson: The unsettled star of Indian cricket

New Delhi:Gautam Gambhir's five-year-old tweet on Sanju Samson is doing the rounds since the time India's Asia Cup squad has been announced on Tuesday.Gambhir had tipped Sanju as the best young batter in Indian cricket. Gambhir wrote on X: "Sanju Samson is not just the best wicketkeeper-batsman in India but the best young batsman in India! Anyone up for debate?"The only debate is what will happen to Sanju Samson, who under Gambhir was finally getting the long rope, under this team management -- which he was promised by Gautam Gambhir's predecessors, Rahul Dravid and Ravi Shastri, but never got the promised run. For ten years, since his debut in Harare, Sanju has been the brightest cricketing hope, but he still remains the most unfulfilled talent.In the IPL, every time Sanju Samson stepped out to bat, former India coach Ravi Shastri used to go gung-ho over his batting and had already drawn comparisons with Rohit Sharma, both men labelled as possessing that rare “lazy elegance.” Ravi Shastri also hailed him as “calm, composed” and compared his qualities with former India captain MS Dhoni. Yet, paradoxically, during Shastri’s tenure, Samson hardly got a proper run.The gap between his first and second T20I appearances was a staggering four years and five months -- debuting in July 2015 against Zimbabwe, only to play his second T20I in December 2019 against Bangladesh. The same story unfolded under Rahul Dravid, the man who had first brought Samson into the Rajasthan Royals set-up and admired his talent.Samson first met Rahul Dravid in 2012. It took Dravid, then captain of Rajasthan Royals, two days to offer him an IPL contract."I started playing in the nets and was hitting sixes off every ball. Rahul sir was excited, saying, ‘Shot, Sanju!’ After two days of trial, he just came up to me and said, ‘Would you like to play for my team, Sanju?’ And I was like, ‘Just tell me the date, I will come running. I’ll even sponsor my own flight,’" Samson had shared with Ravichandran Ashwin.When Dravid became India’s coach, many thought Samson would finally be given the backing he had long waited for. Instead, history repeated itself: flashes of chances, but never the security of belonging.In the 2024 T20 World Cup final, Sanju was all set to play. But minutes before the toss, captain Rohit Sharma had a change of heart and picked Shivam Dube. To Rohit’s credit, he spent 15 minutes trying to explain to Sanju why he missed out. Sanju was all smiles as he was finally given a reason why he was not selected."Before the final, you have changed your decision. You spent 10 minutes with the player that is not playing just before the toss. He gave me 10 minutes before the toss. If I were in their place, I would be thinking about the players who are playing or my batting. I will explain to Sanju later; that is what normally you think. At that point, he thought 'I have to explain to Sanju why I took that decision.' At that point, he won a place in my heart that will stay for a lifetime," Samson had told journalist Vimal Kumar during a chat.Then came Gautam Gambhir, a self-confessed fan of the Kerala batter, who gave Samson role clarity. Perhaps, this was his last shred of rope; perhaps had he failed, he could have been thrust into eternal wilderness.When Gambhir eventually took charge, one of his first big moves was to back Samson at the very top of the order. He had recently spoken about a Duleep Trophy game in Anantpur, Andhra Pradesh, when Suryakumar Yadav assured him he would open in all seven matches of the upcoming series. For Samson, even that small assurance was precious because he knew how rarely he had been backed for a proper stretch of games.Around the same time, on a forgettable Sri Lanka tour, Samson made back-to-back ducks. He thought he was running out of chances until Gambhir stepped in with a sentence that has stayed with him forever: “I’ll remove you from the team only if you score 21 ducks.”That trust bore fruit. In 2024, Samson unleashed his best season in India colours with three T20I hundreds, including consecutive hundreds — a record no Indian has matched in a single calendar year. Suddenly, all the years of waiting seemed worth it.Sanju or Jitesh?Now, with the Asia Cup squad announced, Sanju Samson's place in the XI looks grim. Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two wicketkeepers named in India’s Asia Cup squad, but they bring very different skill sets. Samson has been India’s first-choice keeper over the past year and has largely opened the batting. Jitesh, on the other hand, has played just nine T20Is, with his last appearance coming in January 2024.In IPL 2025, Jitesh struck at 176.35 and played crucial cameos for RCB, down the order, which helped them win their first IPL trophy. With such performances, Jitesh is certainly breathing down Samson’s neck.Can Sanju bat at No. 3?The return of Shubman Gill as vice-captain has reshaped the team balance. Gill will almost certainly open with Abhishek Sharma, which leaves Samson looking in from the outside. Aakash Chopra put it bluntly that Samson’s fate is sealed and he will not feature in the starting line-up. R Ashwin echoed the sentiment, saying the vice-captaincy makes Gill undroppable and pushes Samson either at No 3 or at the bench.Although Samson can bat at No. 3, he has scored most of his IPL runs in that slot, second only to Suresh Raina in terms of overall runs at No. 3. His record there is strong, with an average of 38 at a strike rate of 143 in the IPL. But fitting him in at three would mean dropping Tilak Varma, who has also impressed in limited chances. Dropping Tilak would also break a left-hand/right-hand balance India have carefully built in their middle order.What is next for Sanju?On Sanju's future, chief selector Ajit Agarkar tried to soften the debate by saying the final call rests with the captain and coach once the team reaches Dubai. But the order in which names were read, the vice-captaincy given to Gill, and the praise showered on Jitesh by Suryakumar Yadav have already given away the direction.For Samson, it feels like déjà vu. He is in the squad but not quite in the XI. His story is not about lack of talent, but about timing and circumstances. If India want solidity with Gill, they may sacrifice the intent of Samson. If they want to reward consistency, they may ask him to wait again. Either way, the conversation around him is no longer about whether he is good enough. It is about whether there is enough room for him in a team overflowing with batting talent.As the Asia Cup approaches, Sanju Samson finds himself once again on the fringes.