India vs Australia: Fans were in shock to not see Sanju Samson’s name in India’s Playing XI in the 1st and 2nd ODI vs Australia in Mumbai and Vizag. With Shreyas Iyer out of the IND vs AUS ODI series, Sanju Samson had a golden chance to prove his worth at least as a backup […]
India vs Australia: Fans were in shock to not see Sanju Samson’s name in India’s Playing XI in the 1st and 2nd ODI vs Australia in Mumbai and Vizag. With Shreyas Iyer out of the IND vs AUS ODI series, Sanju Samson had a golden chance to prove his worth at least as a backup batter in the middle order. But it was not to be as the Kerala skipper is still at NCA and recovering from the injury that he sustained early this year. The same was confirmed by a BCCI official to InsideSport on Friday.
“Sanju is still at the NCA recovering from the injury. He is not available for the 1st ODI. Selectors will take a call on whether he will be added to the squad as a replacement for Shreyas. But considering the tight schedule, it is unlikely that Sanju will be fit in time for the 2nd ODI,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
For the opening ODI, India has selected a solid starting lineup, going with four pacers in Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Hardik Pandya. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja both make their ODI team comebacks.
Together with Gill, Ishan Kishan will open the batting as the chosen wicketkeeper.
Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami make up India’s starting Lineup.
Sanju Samson at NCA
BCCI aren’t taking any risks with Sanju Samson at the moment.
In the last 6 months, Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar paid the price of a rushed return. Even Ravindra Jadeja’s return was delayed after the NCA tried to rush him to competitive cricket.
It is reported that Samson is making progress in his recuperation from a knee injury and could play cricket again soon.
Samson has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in the opening T20I matchup against Sri Lanka in January. The Rajasthan Royals captain also did not make the team for the series against New Zealand due to injury.
