When did India move on from Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as their T20I openers?
Since Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as India’s head coach, the Indian cricket team have had mixed results with the red-ball. However, when it comes to white-ball cricket, they just tore apart whichever team came their way. Following India’s 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, India appointed a new captain, changed their opening pair, and opted for fearless batters in the middle order and as finishers. India have lost only three out of 20 matches played since the T20 World Cup 2025.
In their first T20I series vs Zimbabwe after the World Cup glory, Shubman Gill led the Indian team as senior players were rested. Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal emerged as the top two scorers for India. Abhishek Sharma made his T20I debut for India and notched his maiden century in just his second T20I hundred. A swashbuckling 100 off 47 at a strike rate of 200.
Though it was just a teaser of what was about to come.
Sanju Samson got an opportunity to showcase his mettle with the bat in the final game, and he struck a half-century. India stuck to the same opening combination of Gill and Jaiswal for the opening T20I in the next T20I series vs Sri Lanka. But with Sanju Samson not getting enough game time, he opened in the second T20I and came at three in the third match. The RR captain couldn’t make great returns, but Gautam Gambhir wasn’t going to drop him after a couple of poor outings.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, on the other hand, played two solid knocks at the top of the order in the three-match series but didn't play a single T20I thereafter.
Real fun began in Bangladesh T20Is
Both Jaiswal and Gill didn’t underperformed to be dropped from the side. They were, in fact, rested because of the Test commitments. In the subsequent T20I series vs Bangladesh, India locked in a new opening pair in Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, with Suryakumar Yadav coming in at three.
A scintillating hundred from Samson, coupled with a brutal 75 off 35 from Suryakumar Yadav, took India to a gigantic 297 in 20 overs. That score reaffirmed India’s belief that they can play with the same mindset in every game and produce big totals in T20Is.
India toured South Africa for the next T20I series, and Tilak Varma came into the picture. India stuck to their opening pair and their ‘see the ball, hit the ball’ approach. The addition of Tilak Varma only strengthened their top-order as India notched three 200-plus totals in four matches. Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma notched two centuries each in the four-match T20I series, while Abhishek Sharma too gave blistering starts, registering scores of 36 (18) and 50 (25). India won the series 3-1.
Now, it was difficult for Yashavi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill to make a comeback. It wasn’t just about the runs. It was about the intent that India’s top-order exhibited.
But, Samson’s vulnerability against some real pace of Archer and Wood exposed his batting frailties in India’s most recent T20I series vs England. Tilak Varma played a match-winning 72 in the second T20I, but his bat went silent thereafter. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav had a forgettable series with the bat, but Abhishek Sharma strengthened his case at the top of the order with stellar knocks of 79 (34) and 135 (54).
The top-order didn’t fare as expected in an important T20I series vs England. But will India make changes in that department heading into the Asia Cup?
Given how the T20 game has been played these days, it’s nearly impossible to leave out a batter like Abhishek Sharma. And knowing Gautam Gambhir’s penchant for giving players long ropes, you wouldn’t expect Sanju Samson to be dropped soon, either.
India should persist with the duo as openers for the Asia Cup. Their attacking mindset plus destructive hitting ability have resulted in the demotion of Jaiswal and Gill as back-up openers.
