During the Asia Cup 2025 in UAE, Shubman Gill’s return to the T20I fold as vice-captain saw Sanju Samson losing his spot at the top of the order.

After receiving some chances in the middle-order, the wicketkeeper-batter was completely sidelined from the playing XI, with Jitesh Sharma being given the first preference because of his match finishing abilities.

As Gill failed to make a mark in 15 innings, Samson was reinstated as India’s first-choice opener but the latter hasn’t been able to make opportunities count in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, returning with scores of 10, 6, 0 and 24 in four innings so far.

Reflecting on Samson’s poor returns, veteran spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said that pressure should not be an excuse after playing international cricket for more than 10 years.

Chahal added that while failures in one or two games are acceptable, it cannot be extended to three or four matches.

“Sanju Samson has played for many years. He started in the IPL middle-order, then became an opener. After playing international cricket for 10-12 years, pressure should not be an excuse," Chahal said while speaking on JioHotstar.

“He (Samson) has had four chances in this series. I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four. He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at number three, is waiting," Chahal added.

Chahal reckons it is now up to the team management to either give Samson one more chance in the series finale or try out Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma at the top ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, starting February 7.

“However, there is no need to feel too bad because the T20 World Cup is still far. There is one more match against New Zealand. It now depends on the team management’s thinking," Chahal stated.

“If they feel Sanju is struggling as an opener and Ishan is doing well at number three, then the right call would be to make Sanju sit out and let Ishan take his spot as the opener and wicketkeeper in the final T20I," he remarked.