Kerala-based batter, Sanju Samson has been dropped from the ODI squad which has brought in widespread reaction from fans on social media.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced their squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of Sri Lanka that is set to take place later in July.
READ: Suryakumar Yadav Named New T20I Captain, Shubman Gill Is Rohit Sharma’s Deputy for ODIs As India Squads Announced for Sri Lanka Tour
In his last ODI for India, against South Africa at Paarl, Samson managed to score a breath-taking century which allowed the Indian team to post a defendable score of 296.
But, it was found that veteran keepers KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant both made the cut, rendering Samson helpless.
Rahul, who previously took up the captaincy for India temporarily when India took on South Africa in an ODI series in late 2023, proved his mettle to hold his own with the bat as well, coming back from an injury to once again regain his form in the longer format, taking on the wicketkeeping role as well in India’s ODI World Cup campaign as well.
But, all the rage lately has been about a resilient and fiery Rishabh Pant, as the returning swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter made his mark yet again with an impressive outing in the IPL 2024 with Delhi Capitals, which inadvertently led to him being called up for the 2024 T20 World Cup, where India triumphed to bring home the grand prize.
Regardless, the internet did not take lightly to the exclusion of Samson, with fans fuming at the decision, demanding justice for the RR skipper.
Sanju Samson:Gets selected.Gets benched.Gets removed.Justice for Sanju.Gets picked again.Disappears out of nowhere.Gets selected.Dropped.Gets selected again in B team.Gets high in pecking order.Gets replaced by some other guy.Justice for Sanju.Repeat.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) July 18, 2024
Fans raised questions about the selection of all-rounder Shivam Dube, whose credentials in the ODI format seemingly does not stack up to that of Samson’s.
Shivam Dube in place of Sanju Samson in the ODIs is ridiculous. Poor Sanju scored a century in his last series against SA. Why him always? My heart goes out to this young man #SLvIND— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) July 18, 2024
Who is the best player in this?Tell me friends..
Sanju Vs Dube#INDvsSL #SanjuSamson #Dube pic.twitter.com/zQvg87vWkW
— Melur R.Thiru (@Melurthiru) July 18, 2024
The decision seems to have confused even the likes of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who shared the same doubtful outlook on the decision yet wished the Indian team the best.
Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in… pic.twitter.com/PJU5JxSOx2— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 18, 2024
Samson’s attempts to dazzle did not stop with the ODI against South Africa. He also continued to showcase his class even in the Indian Premier League where in IPL 2024 he managed to set his best-ever season tally with 531 runs as he led the Rajasthan Royals to the IPL 2024 playoffs.
But still, it proved to be not enough to warrant an extended run for the batter, which has been the story for most of his career as Gambhir will likely look to hand over opportunities to younger players in hopes of building a side for the longer run.
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