Follow UsKerala politician Shashi Tharoor, known as one of the most vocal supporters of Sanju Samson, who also hails from Kerala, questioned India’s move to promote Shubman Gill as India’s T20I opener and demoting Samson as a byproduct of that move.
Although India managed to win the tournament, Gill's comeback into the team as an opener did not sit well at all, with India’s Test captain being able to score only 127 runs at an average of 21.79 with no fifties to his credit.
On the other hand, Sanju Samson, despite not batting at his usual position in the top three, managed 132 runs at an average of 33 and was the third highest run-getter for India behind Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma. He also had one of the most important partnerships for the team in the final with Player of the Match Tilak.
Keeping all this in mind, Tharoor asked a pertinent question, while congratulating the team at the same time.
“It is fair to ask a few questions, without in any way detracting from our victory. Was it right to break up the hugely successful opening partnership of @abhisheksharm06 and @IamSanjuSamson, and relegate a three-time centurion to a middle slot where he was uncomfortable? Did Gill’s performances at the #AsiaCup justify such a change? Would it not be better to restore Sanju to the place where he has shone for India, put Gill at number three, and have Surya take the number five slot instead?,” Tharoor asked in a post on social media site X.
India will next play T20Is on their tour of Australia, and thus it would be important to see if Samson will be restored to opening or if the Gill experiment will continue.