India, Sept. 11 -- Former India captain and national selector, Kris Srikkanth, reckons that Sanju Samson was chosen to bat at No.5 in the Asia Cup 2025 campaign just because the team management wants to pave the way for Shreyas Iyer's return to the T20I setup. Before the match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it was being reported that Samson would warm the bench and Jitesh Sharma would get the nod ahead of him in the middle-order.

As soon as Shubman Gill was named in the Asia Cup squad as the vice-captain, it was a given that he would open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma, leaving Samson's place in question. However, captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir opted to stick with continuity and give Samson a go. ...