New Delhi [India], January 19 (ANI): The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George lashed out at Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson for missing the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), saying that the batter cannot play for his state “whenever he feels like”.
Samson was one of the notable omissions from India’s ICC Champions Trophy squad announced on Saturday. KL Rahul and swashbuckling left-hander Rishabh Pant were selected as two wicketkeeping options over him.
Omission from the Champions Trophy squad could be due to off-the-field reasons for Sanju as he failed to turn up for Kerala’s Vijay Hazare Trophy camp back in December 2024. On December 18, Kerala boldly dropped their captain from the team. After his side completed two matches by December 23, Samson informed the authorities that he would be available for the remaining games. However, nothing came out of it and the batter did not feature in the tournament at all.
Now, the KCA president Jayesh said as quoted by Wisden on Sunday, “You cannot come and play for Kerala whenever you feel like.” The KCA president launched an attack on Samson for skipping his domestic cricket duties.
With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) laying more emphasis on domestic cricket as of late, there is a chance that Samson not participating in the tournament did not go well with the selectors.
Jayesh added, “Hemang Amin [BCCI COO] asked me if there was disciplinary action taken against Samson that held him back from playing in the Vijay Hazare games. I replied in the negative and he would not have been up for Champions Trophy consideration had I suggested otherwise.”
Samson last featured for Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), a premier domestic T20 competition. In five matches, he made 136 runs at an average of 27.20 and a strike rate of 149.45, with best score of 75.
He has been enjoying a fine patch of form in white-ball cricket for India. In 16 ODIs since his debut in the format back in 2021, he has scored 510 runs in 14 innings at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60, with best score of 108, a century and three fifties to his name. In his last ODI for India, he smashed a century against South Africa at Paarl in December 2023.
He also found his footing in T20Is last year after a rough and long run in the format, smashing an explosive ton against Bangladesh two centuries against South Africa away from home. In 13 T20Is last year, Samson had 436 runs at an average of 43.60, with a strike rate of over 180, three centuries and a fifty to his name. His best score was 111.
In his last 13 innings for India starting from his maiden ODI ton, Samson has made 544 runs at an average of 49.45, with a strike rate of 152.45. He has scored four centuries and a fifty, with the best score of 111.
But on the other hand, KL and Rishabh have not done anything wrong either. In the last two years, KL has sealed his spot as a middle-order wicketkeeper-batter in ODIs. In 43 ODIs and innings at number four and five, KL has scored 1,817 runs at an average of 56.78, with four centuries and 12 fifties to his name. His best score is 112. His overall ODI stats are: 2,851 runs in 77 ODIs and 72 innings at an average of 49.15, with seven centuries and 18 fifties. His best score is 112.
Rishabh has the worst ODI stats out of three, scoring 871 runs in 31 ODIs and 27 innings at an average of 33.50, a strike rate of 106.21, with a century and five fifties to his name. His best score is 125*. Since his return to cricket after a life-threatening road accident in 2022-end, Pant has batted only once in ODIs, in a series against Sri Lanka, managing a score of 6. Since 2021, he has improved his ODI stats, scoring 497 runs in 15 ODIs and 13 innings at an average of 41.42, with a strike rate of 108.28. He has scored a century and four fifties, with best score of 125*. With these numbers, one can easily say that Pant has been finding his footing in ODIs.
The India Squad for ICC Champions Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s Group Stage Fixtures:
February 20- India vs Bangladesh, Dubai
February 23 – India vs Pakistan, Dubai
March 2 – India vs New Zealand, Dubai. (ANI)
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