IND vs SA: "He deserves to have that opportunity"- Robin Uthappa backs Sanju Samson over Shubman Gill as India's T20I opener

Robin Uthappa questioned Suryakumar Yadav’s decision of breaking opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.

Former Indian wicket-keeper batter Robin Uthappa has backed Sanju Samson as an opener for India in T20Is over Shubman Gill. He also blasted captain Suryakumar Yadav for breaking the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Samson in the shortest format.

His comments came after Gill bagged a golden duck in the second T20I against South Africa in New Chandigarh Stadium on Thursday, December 11. He also got out cheaply for four runs in the opening game in Cuttack, and has largely failed to form a powerful opening pair with Sharma.

Last year, Samson was the opening partner of Sharma and hammered three centuries in the shortest format. However, Gill returned to the T20I team ahead of Asia Cup 2025 after being appointed the vice-captain. Following his return, Gill took the opening slot while Samson was moved to the middle-order, where he struggled to score consistently.

What wrong has Sanju Samson done: Robin Uthappa

In the ongoing T20I series against the Proteas, Jitesh Sharma has been preferred over Samson as a wicket-keeper batter, and the latter has lost his spot in the playing XI. Speaking on Star Sports after India’s defeat against South Africa in the second T20I, cricketer-turned-commentator Uthappa questioned Yadav’s decision to break the Samson-Abhishek opening pair.

“I beg the question: what did the partnership of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson do so grossly wrong that they had to be replaced? I understand Surya in the pre-series conference where he said Shubman has actually been in the T20 squad before Sanju got his opportunity. But when Sanju did get his opportunity, he got three hundreds,” he said.

“He was the first guy among the youngsters here to get hundreds in T20 cricket. It was after that when Abhishek got it, and after that when Tilak actually got it. So he perhaps even inspired the guys and challenged them, because at that point, they were figuring out who was going to be the next opener for India in T20 cricket,” he added.

He also backed Samson to get more opportunities as an opener in the T20I side.

“So you have a proven opener, who’s averaging just below Abhishek Sharma at this point, and you decided to move him to the middle order and then slowly leave him out. What wrong has he done? is my question. He deserves to have that opportunity,” he added.

It’s not working for Shubman Gill: Robin Uthappa

Uthappa, who also donned the role of India opener during his career, feels that Gill is struggling as an opener at the moment. He also pointed out that the right-handed batter is trying to replicate Abhishek’s batting style, however, it’s not working out for him.

“It’s not working for Shubman at this point, because I also think he’s trying different things. I think he’s trying initially to go toe-to-toe at the same pace that Abhishek is going – that is not how he bats. That is not how he’s been successful in T20 cricket,” the 40-year-old said.

“How he has been successful is by taking that time, those first 10 balls, absorbing the pressure, getting in, and then once he reaches 15–20 balls, I don’t think there is a batter like Shubman Gill until he gets himself out. That’s the kind of batter he is. And I think that’s what works for him in T20 cricket,” Uthappa concluded.

Meanwhile, Gill has not scored a half-century across his last 17 T20I games. This year, he has scored 263 runs in 14 matches, averaging 23.90 at a strike rate of 142.93. On the other hand, Samson has piled up 185 runs across 10 innings with one half-century and a strike rate over 120.

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