India broke Abhishek Sharma-Sanju Samson opening pair to push Shubman Gill to get a disaster

India broke up a winning opening pair to elevate Shubman Gill, and the consequences are already affecting the team. Sanju Samson was moved down the order, then left out entirely, and Gill has had a tough time justifying the trust placed in him.

This change has thrown off the team’s balance, sparked criticism, and built up pressure that intensifies with each setback. India might have imposed a strategy that the team wasn’t prepared to handle.

India’s decision to break the Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opening pair

To make room for Gill as the opener, India altered the Abhishek Sharma-Sanju Samson partnership beginning with the Australia series in October 2025. Samson, who had excelled at the top, found himself batting at No. 4 or 5 an unfamiliar middle-order spot for the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter.

This shift caused a drop in his performance: across 14 innings following the change through November 2025, he accumulated 185 runs at an average of 18.50 and a strike rate of 120.91.

When the South Africa series came up in December 2025, Samson was totally excluded from the playing XI. Jitesh Sharma took on the role of keeper-finisher, and Abhishek Sharma joined Gill at the top.

As Robin Uthappa, a former India batter, pointed out in an interview,, “What wrong has Sanju Samson done?” – showing the irony of benching a player with three T20I centuries from 2024.

Shubman Gill’s golden duck at Mullanpur raises fresh questions

On December 11, 2025, the repercussions of the decision reached their peak during the second T20I at Mullanpur (New Chandigarh), where Gill was out for a golden duck—caught at first slip off Lungi Ngidi’s opening delivery.

India, chasing a low target following South Africa’s 51-run win in the first game, crumbled early, with Gill’s dismissal worsening the struggles of the top order. This was his second score in single digits for the series (he had 4 in the first T20I on December 9 in Cuttack).

If your XI is being picked on merit I would want Sanju Samson opening the innings the next game in place of Shubman Gill.
At least the coach will then be seen as doing justice. #INDvsSA

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) December 11, 2025

The match scorecard showed India at 0-1 after Gill’s dismissal, highlighting the powerplay fragility since the pair breakup—a 15% drop in scoring rate compared to 2024.

Fans and analysts labeled it a “disaster,” one user on X tweeted, “If your XI is being picked on merit I would want Sanju Samson opening the innings the next game in place of Shubman Gill. At least the coach will then be seen as doing justice.”

India has found itself in a tricky situation of its own making, and you can feel the frustration building with every match. When you take apart something that was working, you expect the new solution to boost the team, not pull it into deeper doubts.

That’s why this whole mess seems like it could have been avoided. At this stage, it’s more about common sense than numbers, and India needs to decide how long it wants to stick with a plan that clearly isn’t solid.