Shikhar Dhawan unfazed by 'criticism' over Sanju Samson's non-selection

India wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson became the victim of inconsistent selection during the white-ball series in New Zealand. During the series, he played only one game, i.e the first ODI. Apart from that, he missed the T20I games and the ODIs too. In the only game he played, he scored 38 runs which is a decent performance. However, he was ignored in the rest of the 50-over games.

Also, not to forget, he was ignored in T20Is in favor of Rishabh Pant who was asked to open the batting. The latter failed miserably in the series. At that time, the fans felt Samson might have easily played in place of Pant. During the ODI series, the Indian team management faced the ire of the fans due to the Keralites' exclusion.

Meanwhile, stand-in skipper Shikhar Dhawan seemed unfazed after the third ODI that got washed out. He said that it is important to see the larger picture during selecting a playing XI.

We need to back Rishabh Pant when he is not doing well: Shikhar Dhawan

In reply to Sanju's exclusion, Dhawan acknowledged that the former is doing well. However, the left-hander added that Pant has done well in the past and it is important to back him when he is not doing well.

"Overall you have to see the larger picture and who is your match winner. You analyse and your decisions are based on that," Dhawan said at the post-match interaction.

"Of course, Sanju Samson has been doing really well in whatever opportunity he got.

"But sometimes you got to wait for your chances, because the other player has done well and we know based on his (Pant's) skill that he's a match-winner. So, you need to back him when he's not doing well."

Meanwhile, Samson isn't part of the ODI squad for the series against Bangladesh this month. With no white-ball cricket lined up for India, the right-hander will have to play extremely well in the Indian T20 League 2023.