"Sanju Samson at No. 3" - Robin Uthappa picks India's XI for IND vs SA 2025 3rd T20I

Former India player Robin Uthappa has suggested a change in the Men in Blue's playing XI for the third T20I against South Africa. He opined that Sanju Samson should bat at No. 3, ahead of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma.

The third T20I of the five-match series between India and South Africa will be played in Dharamsala on Sunday, December 14. The hosts fielded the same XI in the first two games, with Jitesh Sharma playing as the wicketkeeper-batter ahead of Samson.

On the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues,' Uthappa reckoned that Shubman Gill should continue to open with Abhishek Sharma, with Samson replacing Jitesh and batting at No. 3.

"I would like to see Shubman and Abhishek Sharma opening the batting. Complete left field here, Sanju Samson at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4 and Tilak Varma at No. 5, and then so on and so forth," he said.

The former India opener noted that the hosts would continue to have batting depth and enough bowling options with his chosen XI.

"You still have Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel. So your eight batters are sorted, and you have five bowlers. I would love to see that XI. I think that would be the ideal XI for India," Uthappa observed.

Robin Uthappa's Indian XI for IND vs SA 2025 3rd T20I: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

---

"He needs to have a fixed slot" - Robin Uthappa on Suryakumar Yadav ahead of IND vs SA 2025 3rd T20I

Suryakumar Yadav has endured a lean run in T20Is in 2025. [P/C: Getty]

On the same show, Robin Uthappa opined that Suryakumar Yadav should consistently bat at No. 4.

"I definitely believe that, as far as Suryakumar Yadav is concerned, he needs to have a fixed slot. Whether No. 3 or No. 4, we know that in the IPL, he has scored a lot of runs at No. 4. Stick with him at No. 4," he reasoned.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Shubman Gill needs to take his time before playing the big shots.

"With Shubman Gill, I genuinely feel, for someone like him, he needs to bat in his own mold. He has got a method to score his runs. He has scored a lot of runs following his own method of scoring runs. He can try just getting in in the first few overs, and once he gets in, he ups the ante. After that, it's almost impossible to get him out," Uthappa observed.

Suryakumar Yadav has aggregated only 17 runs at an average of 8.50 in the first two T20Is against South Africa. Shubman Gill has managed just four runs at an average of 2.00 and has lasted only three balls across his two innings.

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by Kartik Iyer