KCA official confirms Sanju Samson wanted to play Vijay Hazare Trophy, explains why he was not picked in Kerala squad

In an interesting development, a Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) official has confirmed that Sanju Samson was keen to feature in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, the senior keeper-batter was not considered for selection since the squad had already been finalized.

Earlier, several reports claimed that Samson had opted out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy due to personal reasons. It is being stated that the 30-year-old might not find a place in India's 2025 Champions Trophy squad. The fact that he missed the Vijay Hazare Trophy is being termed as one of the reasons behind it.

Speaking to Onmanorama, KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar confirmed that Samson had approached the cricket association and expressed his willingness to feature in the List A tournament. Clearing the air over the matter, Kumar said that the stumper sent them at least two emails. According to him, the first mail read:

"This is to inform you that I'll not be available for the camp."

The KCA official, however, pointed out that Samson did not give any reason for his decision. He continued:

"And Sachin (Baby) was also unavailable due to an injury. We were missing two senior players. So we thought of trying out youngsters in their place."

The Onmanorama report added that Samson got in touch with the KCA before Kerala's opening match in the Vijaya Hazare Trophy against Baroda on December 23. The 30-year-old confirmed his availability for the tournament but was not picked. Explaining KCA's move, Kumar said:

"But by then, the squad was finalized. It would have been unfair to sacrifice a youngster at that point."

The report quoted a source close to Samson as saying that the cricketer was shocked by KCA's move to not pick him. The source was quoted as saying:

"It had been a norm that Sanju would join the Kerala camp when he was not away on national duty. Attending preparatory camps had not been mandatory before."

Samson captained Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the team ended up winning four out of six matches. In his absence, Salman Nizar led Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. They won only two out of five matches and failed to qualify for the knockouts of the one-day event.

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Dhruv Jurel could pip Sanju Samson in Champions Trophy squad

According to several media reports, Dhruv Jurel is likely to be picked over Samson in India's Champions Trophy squad. As per a report in PTI, Rishabh Pant is set to be India's first-choice keeper in the ICC event. The report added that going forward, Pant and Jurel could be India's top two choices in Tests and ODI.

Samson has so far featured in 16 one-dayers, scoring 510 runs at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60. The right-hander scored a hundred for India in his last ODI against South Africa in Paarl in December 2023.