India’s Sanju Samson (PTI Photo)
He did well the last time he played,” Chopra said. You said you would keep Kumar Kushagra, which is okay. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has questioned Sanju Samson ’s continued omission from the ODI squad, pointing out that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter has a strong record in the format but has not been considered even for the final two matches of the series against New Zealand. Chopra noted that India have several wicketkeeper-batters available, including KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel, none of whom have been picked for the upcoming matches. Ishan Kishan , meanwhile, has been named vice-captain, leaving Samson out of the squad. “Sanju hasn’t been kept now either. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Dhruv Jurel aren’t there. Ishan Kishan has been made the vice-captain there, but Sanju isn’t selected. Sanju’s ODI numbers are not that bad. “It looked like this time it would be the case to at least give him an opportunity, but you did not. His domestic numbers are good, but why not Sanju Samson? It means you have made up your mind about Sanju Samson from an ODI cricket perspective,” Chopra observed.
Samson has scored 510 runs in 14 ODI innings at an average of 56.67. His last appearance in the format came against South Africa in Paarl in December 2023, when he struck 108 off 114 balls in India’s 78-run victory. If he isn’t scoring, how can he be the highest scorer in the last 20 matches, when Ishan Kishan is the No. 1 T20I batter in the ICC rankings and Abhishek is No. 2?”
“The truth is that Sanju Samson has scored the most runs among them. Yet, he seems to have a lifetime subscription to pressure. Whenever there is a problem, pressure follows him. This keeps happening to him. Whether he scores runs or not, he is blamed for not scoring.
Chopra’s defence of Samson comes amid repeated questions over the wicketkeeper-batter’s place in the Indian side. Samson was dropped during the UK tour after just three failures, despite being named Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup, at a time when the entire batting unit was struggling. Ahead of the Afghanistan T20I series, his place in the team again became a subject of debate on social media, with some of the discussion also centred on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being left out. Samson responded by scoring half-centuries in the second and third matches of the three-game series.