Gavaskar bats for Samson at No. 3 place

New Delhi: If someone of Sanju Samson’s calibre is picked in an Indian squad of 15, then he surely can’t be kept out while selecting the playing eleven in the upcoming Asia Cup, feels legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who wants to see the Kerala dasher bat at No.3 behind Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Once Gill came back into the T20 set-up as vice-captain, it was a foregone conclusion that he would get his opening slot back. The team management now has a tricky call on hand while deciding whether to keep Samson in the playing XI finding a slot for him in top three or play Jitesh Sharma, who is more familiar with finisher’s role. “If you take somebody like Sanju Samson in the core team, then you can’t leave him out in the reserves,” Gavaskar told a select group of mediapersons during an interaction ahead of the tournament starting September 9 in the UAE.

“Yes, I think it’s a very good headache to have for any selection committee that you have two capable batters and somebody like Sanju Samson who can maybe even bat at three and if needed come down at six as a finisher.

“And Jitesh has also done well in the recently concluded IPL where he’s played exceedingly well. So yes, I think it’s a pleasant headache for the tour selection committee,” he added.

The 76-year-old feels that Samson will at least get a couple of matches if not more. India will open against UAE on September 10.

“But my feeling is that maybe Samson will probably get the nod ahead of Jitesh for at least the first couple of games. And then depending on what his form is for the rest of the tournament. But this is what I think will happen,” said the former Indian skipper under whom India won the inaugural Asia Cup ODI tournament in Sharjah in 1984.

Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar Yadav have normally played at number three and four in recent years, so how can Samson be accommodated at the top if he isn’t playing in the middle-order.