India Nets: Jitesh Enjoys Valuable Batting Session, Samson Left Standing Alone

DUBAI: Being Sanju Samson these days is no easy task, as he faces the real possibility of losing his spot in India’s playing eleven while the team searches for the ideal combination.

During the Indian team’s evening net session at the ICC Cricket Academy ahead of the Asia Cup, Samson was the first to start solo keeping drills with fielding coach T. Dilip, even as others were just arriving. He displayed intense focus, earning praise for a full-stretch diving catch to his right. Head coach Gautam Gambhir then approached him, engaging in a three-minute conversation that seemed to revolve more around batting than keeping.

Meanwhile, Jitesh Sharma walked out confidently from the clubhouse. He appeared relaxed as he, along with Shivam Dube, Tilak Verma, and Hardik Pandya, rotated through batting drills, with middle-order hitters going first. During this time, Samson, clad in batting gear, quietly stepped aside and sat behind a palm tree near the dressing room. Despite vice-captain Shubman Gill, skipper Suryakumar Yadav, and Abhishek Sharma taking multiple turns to bat, Samson was not called to the crease. Eventually, realizing he wouldn’t bat, he settled on an icebox while others continued. When he finally entered the nets, a half-tracker from a net bowler went past him—a quiet summary of his day.

Rinku Singh, too, largely stayed out of batting drills, indicating his low standing in the current pecking order. Only later did he pad up for throwdowns from a non-specialist staffer.

The session highlighted the challenge of accommodating Samson while placing Tilak Verma at No.6, as suggested by Sunil Gavaskar. Gambhir’s approach focuses on batting depth and all-rounders; Jitesh Sharma as a finisher complements power hitters like Shivam Dube. Unlike previous eras under Dhoni or Rahul Dravid, where net sessions often concealed strategy, Gambhir’s sessions are a clear reflection of his match plans: what happens in the nets directly signals who is in contention.

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