Disappointment for Sanju Samson continues. The wicketkeeper batter, who’d scored a century in the last ODI he played, has been dropped from India’s 50-over squad for the upcoming 3-match series against Sri Lanka. His fans have long claimed that the Kerala batter has been unjustly treated, and this time they might be right.
Sanju Samson unfairly treated?
Just as MS Dhoni overshadowed the careers of other wicketkeepers during his time, Rishabh Pant’s return to international cricket last month has once again sidelined Samson. Having made his debut in July 2021, three years later, he has played just 16 matches. Pant has played a huge role in Sanju’s non-selection in white-ball, and in the past, it could have been easily justified as well. However, this time around, that’s not the case.
Despite being supremely talented, Pant has never performed at the level expected in ODIs. He’s played double the number of matches as Samson and averages 40% less. We have heard the Indian management talk about a pecking order, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.
Pant has won numerous matches for India, especially in Test cricket, but is it fair to drop a guy who averages 56 and scored a century in the last ODI he played for a player who’s played a 50-over game in 21 months?
Rishabh Pant vs Sanju Samson: ODI stats
| Player | Mat | Runs | Ave | SR | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanju Samson | 16 | 510 | 56.66 | 99.6 | 1 | 3 |
| Rishabh Pant | 30 | 865 | 34.6 | 106.65 | 1 | 5 |
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Did KL Rahul play a factor in Samson’s exclusion?
One has to also factor in that KL Rahul can also keep wickets. In fact, he was India’s designated man behind the stumps in the last ODI World Cup. The question then emerges: does India need three wicketkeepers in one squad? All three also bat in the middle order, which further extenuates the problem.
Of the three, Rahul is the only one whose spot in the team is confirmed. But, given how the management has decided to back Pant, having KL Rahul, who’s also a wicketkeeper, doesn’t help Samson’s case at all.
India ODI squad for Sri Lanka series
Rohit Sharma (c), Ꮪhubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
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