Asia Cup 2025: Is Sanju Samson's India Spot Under Threat? R Ashwin Makes Massive 'Shubman Gill' Claim

When Shubman Gill was named in the Indian cricket team's squad for the Asia Cup 2025, a few eyebrows were raised. Gill had not been a part of the T20 scheme of things for quite some time and not only was he part of the squad, he was also named the team's vice-captain. 

Now, according to former India all-rounder R Ashwin, Gill's inclusion may end up costing opener Sanju Samson his spot in the XI as he believes Gill will partner his Punjab teammate Abhishek Sharma in the tournament. 

Samson has been India's first-choice wicketkeeper-batter for the past year in the game's shortest format but, if Ashwin's analysis is to be believed, his spot is under threat. 

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Why Gill Will Play Over Samson?

Ashwin's reasoning is simple - with Gill as the designated vice-captain, he has to play and his best spot is the opening position.  

"What is sadder is that you have announced Gill as the vice-captain, so Sanju Samson’s place is also under threat. Sanju is not going to play. Shubman Gill will play, and he will open the batting," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"Genuinely, I understand Shubman Gill’s selection. He is also the vice-captain. He has scored a lot of runs for the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He has credentials to be picked in the T20I setup."

A look at India's squad options also makes this seem plausible - the other wicketkeeper option is Jitesh Sharma, who is best used as a finisher and who can slot into the lower order so that Gill plays at the top. 

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Unfair on Sanju Samson?

However, there is little doubt that Samson would feel hard done by if he is dropped - and it is easy to understand why. 

Since January 2024, Samson has been one of India's best batters in the shortest format of the game. In that time, he's scored 487 runs at an average of 32.46 and a massive strike rate of 170.87. 

This run of games has seen him score 3 hundreds and 1 fifty, and he has wonderfully complimented Abhishek at the top of the order.