Asia Cup 2025: “Sanju is a very gifted player; he can adapt”- Sunil Gavaskar picks him in his India XI for Asia Cup

Sanju Samson became the first cricketer to hit three T20I tons in one year in 2024.

India's 15-man roster for the forthcoming Asia Cup was revealed by the BCCI, with Shubman Gill taking over as vice-captain and Suryakumar Yadav leading the T20 team. This was a major surprise. India's strategy is quite clear and won't significantly differ from its prior series. What the precise mix would look like is still up in the air, though.

Sunil Gavaskar gave his opinion on what India should bring to this match in an interview. Gavaskar's decision to include both Gill and Samson, who argued for the keeper further down the order, was particularly noteworthy about his squad.

“He can still be in the team as somebody batting down the order. He can bat at 5 or 6. He shouldn’t be left out; after all, he’s the wicket-keeper. Sanju is a very gifted player; he can adapt. He is used to batting down the order; we shouldn’t be too worried about him, he’s a class act,” said Gavaskar on Sports Today.

Beyond this, there weren't many surprises in the path Gavaskar chose, and his squad is probably going to be the one playing in India's first match.

“Your first choice XI and your batting order will depend on a lot of things, like what the pitch is like, who the opposition is, and what their bowling attack is. The two certainties would be Abhishek and Shubman Gill, the two Punjab boys opening the batting together; that would be my opening pair. 3 and 4 would be Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav,” said Gavaskar.

“Depending on what the score is or what you need, you either put Hardik Pandya a little bit ahead, or Sanju Samson goes in to bat. There is also somebody like Axar Patel who can come in and bat, given how well he batted in the final of the T20 World Cup in Barbados. That would be the way to go,” he added.

Gavaskar’s bowling attack options were also what were expected to be in the Asia Cup. He opted for four frontline bowlers with all-rounders seeing out a well-rounded unit.

“As far as the bowling is concerned, I would go with Arshdeep as well as Bumrah to open the bowling and also have Axar and Hardik Pandya as the all-rounders, then Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy. Dube, Jitesh, Harshit, and Rinku Singh—it’s tough for them, but that’s what it is,” Gavaskar signed off.

India will begin their Asia Cup 2025 tournament on September 10 in a Group A match against the UAE. India’s big-ticket encounter against Pakistan will be on September 14.