"If you stay here you will lose your cricket career" - Twitterati fume as India leave out Sanju Samson of 1st T20I vs ENG

Sanju Samson had a decent campaign in the two T20Is against Ireland.
Sanju Samson had a decent campaign in the two T20Is against Ireland.

Team India left out wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from the playing XI for the first T20I against England on Thursday (July 7), at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Samson was picked in the squad for only the first T20I but did not make it into the XI.

The Kerala-born cricketer had a decent campaign leading up to the England series. Sanju scored 77 runs in the second T20I against Ireland and stitched together a record partnership of 176 runs with Deepak Hooda. The right-handed batter also scored 38 runs in the warm-up game against Derbyshire.

Despite being in form, the management preferred the likes of Ishan Kishan and Deepak Hooda over Samson.

Fans were certainly disappointed not to see Sanju Samson in India's playing XI. They rued the fact that Samson has not been given a long rope to prove his credentials, unlike other players in the side.

Here are some of the reactions:

With opportunities hardly coming his way, Samson is falling behind in the race to be in India's T20 World Cup squad. The marquee competition is scheduled to take place in Australia later this year.


"For that conditions, he has more shots than any other Indian" - Ravi Shastri backs Sanju Samson to be in India's T20 World Cup

Samson has played only 14 T20Is so far despite making his debut in 2015. However, India's former head coach Ravi Shastri believes the wicketkeeper-better is the best choice for Australian conditions going into the T20 World Cup.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo last month, Shastri had stated:

“Between Tripathi, Samson, and Iyer, there will be opportunities now. But when you look at Australia, bounce, pace, cut, pull, Samson will always threaten there. For that conditions, he has more shots than any other Indian, to be honest.”

It remains to be seen whether Samson gets enough opportunities to make a case for himself ahead of the multi-nation event in October-November.

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Edited by Aditya Singh
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