Think Sanju Samson has cemented his place as T20I opener: Dinesh Karthik

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson was part of India’s squad during the T20 World Cup 2024 but didn’t play a single game. After Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirement, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal were considered alongside Abhishek Sharma for the opening slots. However, both Gill and Jaiswal were rested during the T20I series against Bangladesh and that’s when the team management promoted Samson to top of the order.

He flopped in the first two games but smashed a cracking ton in the third game in Hyderabad. He was given the opportunity to open in the series against South Africa as well in the first T20I in Durban, the Kerala-born cricketer kept up the momentum, scoring a century. With that, he became the first Indian cricketer to hit back-to-back centuries in T20I format. Even though he failed to get going in the second fixture, former cricketer Dinesh Karthik believes that he has done enough to seal his spot as an opener.

Karthik noted that Samson has made plenty of technical changes in his batting style and added that he should be considered for opening alongside Jaiswal in the future.

Also Read - Dinesh Karthik urges selectors to pick Varun Chakaravarthy for Champions Trophy 2025

“I think he [Samson] has cemented his spot as an opener. Yashasvi Jaiswal and him will be the openers at least for some time to come in the T20 format. He has made a lot of technical changes, especially suited to this format. He focused a lot on six-hitting. Against Keshav Maharaj, he stepped out but missed the length of the ball,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“Maharaj did brilliantly to beat him in the air, but Sanju held his position and waited on the shot, hitting it over covers. That's a man who, even when he misses the length, doesn't panic and holds that extra second. That's a very tough skill to have, but he does it very well. That's what makes him very special,” he added.

The third T20I of the series will be played on November 13 in Centurion. The series is currently poised at 1-1.