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Sanju Samson (Source: Twitter)
Sanju Samson's dream of a spot in the upcoming ODI World Cup squad took a major hit as he was once again ignored in the first ODI between India and West Indies. Ishan Kishan was preferred over Samson as India's wicketkeeper at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday, July 27.
Kishan's selection can only be justified as India wanted to add a left-hander to the top order as his stats so far in the 50-over format are not-so-impressive. However, the southpaw grabbed the opportunity with both hands by smashing a half-century (52 off 46) after opening the innings alongside Shubman Gill. Meanwhile, despite consistently failing in ODIs, Suryakumar Yadav also got the nod ahead of Samson.
End of the road for Sanju Samson?
The Kerala-born cricketer made his ODI debut in July 2021, but he so far had an inconsistent run with Team India. Samson has consistently put in decent performances in the Indian Premier League and many former cricketers and pundits have expressed shock at his frequent absence from the national team. The right-hander has represented India in 11 ODIs so far and has scored 33 runs at an average of 66 including two fifties.
On the other hand, Kishan has not been impressive except for his double century against Bangladesh last December. In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, India could have brought in Samson, but they gave another chance to Yadav, who has failed to prove his mettle in this format. The Mumbai cricketer scored just 433 runs at a poor average of 24.05 from 23 matches and even registered three consecutive golden ducks in the last ODI series against Australia.
India and West Indies Playing XI for the 1st ODI
West Indies: Shai Hope(w/c), Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Alick Athanaze, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Dominic Drakes, Jayden Seales, Gudakesh Motie
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar
Here's how fans reacted to Sanju Samson's omission from IND vs WI 1st ODI:
Very true!!
— Milin Kejriwal (@milinkejriwal25) July 27, 2023
He should really retire from international cricket.
If without KL Shreyas Pant he is not given a place.
He won't get it in future as well.
It's India loss not Sanju
— mam (@mam699742030088) July 27, 2023
They just don't want him... They just don't like him
— Vishnu 🕉 (@MasterVKohli) July 27, 2023
Surya 24 AVG in ODI still playing
— Rahul Sharma (@RahulSh24082787) July 27, 2023
Hopefully they will lose another WC 😣
— Rahul (@_furiousss) July 27, 2023
Politics with him is real. Bloody Mumbai lobby.
— Sagar Kumar Bal (@IamSagarBal11) July 27, 2023
Jab tak Rohit Sharma captain he tab tak Samson ka koi chance hi nahi he odi me
— Vijay Patel (@Vbjpatel) July 27, 2023
Yaaar.. Kyaa karooo yaar.. Bakwaas management 🙄
— Saleem P Hassan (@SaleemPHassan1) July 27, 2023
Bhaiya esa hota ha to match dekhne ka man nahi karta mera to
— prakash (@pr_kashlegha) July 27, 2023