Sanju Samson’s journey with the Indian team has been difficult with the wicketkeeper-batter being mostly in and out of the side for the most part of his international career. However, after Gautam Gambhir took office as the head coach, Samson became a mainstay in the T20I side. He was recently also named in the India squad for Asia Cup 2025, slated to start from September 9. The continental tournament will be held in the shortest format and act as a dress rehearsal for next year’s T20 World Cup 2026.
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Samson, despite being named in the Asia Cup squad, isn’t guaranteed a spot in the playing XI. This is because Shubman Gill has also been included in the squad and has been named the vice captain. This essentially means that Gill will play all games and while Gill could have been slotted in the No.3 or No.4 positions, India already have SKY and Tilak Varma for those specific roles. That means Gill will open the innings at the cost of Sanju or Abhishek Sharma.
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Amidst the uncertainty of his position in the playing XI, Sanju has made a strong statement to consolidate his place at the top of the order by blasting a fiery century in the ongoing Kerala Cricket League (KCL 2025). Playing for the Kochi Blue Tigers against Aries Kollam Sailors, Sanju opened the innings and slammed an explosive knock of 121 off just 51 balls, hitting at a blistering rate of 237.25, which comprised a staggering 14 boundaries and seven maximums.
Sanju Samson reached the fifty-run mark in just 16 balls, the fastest in KCL history before completing the ton off 42 deliveries.
Redeeming himself after a slow performance of 13 runs from 22 balls in the previous game against the Alleppey Ripples, Samson looked like a completely different player in his second batting outing of the season. He was absolutely unstoppable with his free-flowing stroke play and effectively ended any speculation about his form. Sanju’s heroics also helped the Tigers chase down a massive total of 237 successfully.
The knock will also give him a big morale boost going into Asia Cup, especially after a mediocre IPL 2025 where he managed 285 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.62 and a strike rate of 140.39.
