Suryakumar Yadav reveals why Shubman Gill is preferred ahead of Sanju Samson as T20I opener

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav has revealed that Shubman Gill deserves the opening spot ahead of Sanju Samson in T20Is. Ahead of the Asia Cup, Gill was appointed as the team’s vice-captain and since then, he has been opening the innings with Abhishek Sharma, whereas Samson is getting his chances in the middle order.

SKY admitted that Samson had done a good job for the team as an opener, but Gill is their first choice. Samson had scored three T20I centuries as an opener and many cricket boffins believe that the Kerala batter has been a bit unlucky to lose out on his preferred batting position.

“We don’t want to change too much in terms of combinations. The focus is simply on the type of cricket we want to play; apart from that, there’s nothing major we want to alter,” Suryakumar said at the pre-match press conference.

“Sanju is a batter who can play higher up the order. He has done well as an opener. Shubman played ahead of Sanju because he deserved that spot, but we still ensured Sanju got opportunities,” Suryakuamar said.

The Indian skipper concurred with head coach Gautam Gambhir, who recently said that batting orders are overrated in the white-ball formats, barring the opening position.

“Apart from the openers, everyone else needs to be flexible. They must adapt. Both of them are very much in our plans — both can perform multiple roles. It’s an asset for the team and a good headache to have,” he added.

SKY said the focus is on the 10 matches before the T20 World Cup and once the tournament arrives, they will be focused on the same.

“We have to play 10 T20 games against two quality oppositions before the World Cup, so the immediate focus is on those matches. As we get closer to the tournament, we’ll gradually shift our focus fully to the T20 World Cup,” he said.

The first T20I between India and South Africa will be played at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, on Tuesday.