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Sanju Samson or Shubman Gill? India’s World Cup-winning star shares his take on India’s opening pair for Asia Cup 2025
Speaking about the topic of whether Shubman Gill or Sanju Samson should come to open India's innings with Abhishek Sharma, India's world cup-winning star has shared his take.
Last Updated on - September 6, 2025 7:32 PM IST
Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal shared his views on the Suryakumar Yadav-led side’s opening pair for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, set to begin September 9 in Dubai. As of now, there are three players who are in contention for the opening spot- Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have been an established opening pair for India in T20Is, but since Shubman Gill got named in Indian squad for Asia Cup, there has been doubts in selectors’ minds on who will open the innings along with Abhishek. There are chances that Gill might open with Abhishek , and Sanju might come out in the middle-order. However, Madan Lal has stated his own views about the opening combination.
“I’m satisfied because it should have been done. Abhishek Sharma’s strike rate is more than 225, and Shubman Gill’s strike rate is more than 150. Opening is very important in T20Is. In the first six overs, the openers set the game. Then, after that, you have to ensure that your average is around 7, 8, or 9 and continue until the 14th or 16th over. In the last three to four overs, you have a big hitter like Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel,” Madan Lal said.
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Indian team will begin their Asia Cup campaign with clash against United Arab Emirates (UAE) on September 10, with a match against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14- with both of them to be played in Dubai. The final group stage fixture is against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi..