Sanju Samson Should Open; High-Time Gautam Gambhir Rethinks About Shubman Gill as Opener in T20Is

Ind vs Aus: Sanju Samson had been performing really well as India's T20 opener before Shubman Gill was shockingly brought in for the Asia Cup 2025 as vice-captain of the T20I side. In the Asia Cup, Gill was made to open with Abhishek Sharma and while the southpaw fired in most games, the former could not live upto his potential. Once that happened, fans and experts started calling for a change. Yet, India coach Gautam Gambhir stuck with Gill in the five-match T20I series against Australia and made Samson float in the batting order before dropping him at Hobart after one poor outing at Adelaide. 

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Samson Should Open? 

With not many T20I games left for India before the World Cup in February, it would be interesting to see if Gambhir is willing to make the tweak in the batting order now. If the change has to happen, it should happen when India take on Australia in the fourth game at Queensland. 

In fact, this stat on Gill will give more clarity over his poor form as opener in T20Is. Since he got back in the T20 fold in the Asia Cup 2025, he has amassed merely 170 runs in 10 outings at an average of 24.14 with a strike rate of 148.24.

On the other hand, Samson averages a healthy 33 in T20Is with a strike rate nearing 180 - this is while he is opening the batting. Now Samson has a mindset of an opener and hence for a player who opens it is very difficult for that cricketer to adjust in the middle-order. 

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Can India Take Lead in Queensland? 

Despite all the problems still persisting in the T20 side, India managed to level the series at Hobart with a five-wicket win. 

Now they would like to carry the winning momentum into their next game that is on November 6.