“Sanju Samson was so close” - Former India wicketkeeper’s huge statement on Rishabh Pant’s selection for 2025 Champions Trophy

Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has given his take regarding the selection conundrum surrounding the wicketkeepers ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. The selection committee decided to go with the pair of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the responsibility with the gloves and to play a part in the middle order.

The management's decision once again left Sanju Samson out in the cold. The wicketkeeper had recorded a hundred in his last ODI innings for India in December 2023 and has been on the rise in white-ball cricket. The fact that he did not play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy amid his tussle with the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has added another layer to the entire scenario.

Team India had to face a similar selection headache between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant during the 2024 T20 World Cup. On that occasion, both had made the squad, pipping the likes of KL Rahul and Jitesh Sharma. However, with only one vacancy in the playing XI, Pant ended up playing all the matches in the victorious campaign while Samson warmed the bench.

Dinesh Karthik opined that Rishabh Pant being a left-handed batter made a huge difference.

“It almost had to happen, isn’t it? It was either Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson. I know you can look at both of them as pure batters, but I think they have tilted towards Rishabh Pant for just the one reason: because he is a left-hander," Karthik said on Cricbuzz’s HeyCBwithDK show (via InsideSport).

"He can give that differential variable that they are looking for in the batting order. But Sanju Samson was so close, and the fact that he didn’t play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, I am sure, has played a part in that too,” he added.

Rishabh Pant has played only one ODI since his lengthy layoff due to a car accident in December 2022. He was dismissed for six runs off nine deliveries on his return to the format during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo last year.

Sanju Samson was not selected in Kerala's Vijay Hazare Trophy squad after missing training camp

A few positive outings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy could have made a difference for Samson, but he wasn't selected despite making himself available. The KCA did not consider him in their squad after the wicketkeeper batter did not attend the three-day training camp in Wayanad ahead of the domestic tournament.

The player's father, Samson Vishwanath, and renowned politician Shashi Tharoor have blamed the KCA for tarnishing a promising career. They have outlined how the KCA have selected players in the squad who were not part of the training camp.