Sanju Samson’s omission from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka has raised a few eyebrows. In his last ODI appearance, Samson scored a century (108) against South Africa in Paarl on December 21, 2023. Samson’s snub came as a surprise to many, and former Indian batter Aakash Chopra was among those who found it difficult to believe that the 29-year-old batter had been axed.
Reacting to the news of Samson’s omission, Chopra, in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, said that Samson was ignored due to the return of senior players and the transition in Team India.
“The problem is that you see quite often that the main team players don’t play between two World Cups. Then some youngster plays, and when he does well, you feel he is very good and should be given opportunities, but as soon as the senior player becomes available, the senior plays and the youngster is left out. If you see logically, it’s right because he was keeping the bench warm, but is it right?" Chopra said.
“When the transition happens—a new coach, a new captain, or a new selection committee—bridges are not built at times, and there are gaps left in the middle. It’s that gap in Sanju Samson’s case because clarity of thought is not there, as he had scored a century the last time he was played, so why is he not a part of the team now?" he added.
Since making his ODI debut for India in July 2021 against Sri Lanka, Samson has scored 510 runs in 16 matches. He has a strike rate of 99.6 in ODIs. Apart from one century, he has also hammered three fifties for the Men in Blue.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season, Samson was on fire with the bat for the Rajasthan Royals and amassed a total of 531 runs.
While Samson failed to secure a spot in India’s ODI side, he managed to retain his place in the T20I team, which will be led by Suryakumar Yadav.
India’s T20I squad for Sri Lanka series: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj
India’s ODI squad for Sri Lanka series: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana
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