The selectors chose to go with KL Rahul, who appears to be their preferred wicketkeeper-batter for ODIs, and Rishabh Pant, who returned to the format during the series against Sri Lanka last year.
Wicketkeeper-batter, Sanju Samson, was not included in the 15-player squad for the Champions Trophy announced last week.
The selectors chose to go with KL Rahul, who appears to be their preferred wicketkeeper-batter for ODIs, and Rishabh Pant, who returned to the format during the series against Sri Lanka last year.
Sanju Samson last played an ODI in December 2023 in the series in South Africa. Rishabh Pant was recovering from his injury during that period. However, Sanju Samson was omitted from the series in 2024 against Sri Lanka and Rishabh Pant came back into the side.
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Harbhajan Singh, in a conversation with Switch, said he couldn’t understand how Sanju Samson was not included in the India Champions Trophy squad. After all, his ODI average is over 56 in just 16 games. Harbhajan said the batting style that Samson displayed was ideal for the ODI format and hence was disappointed over his continued exclusion.
In explanation, Harbhajan said that Samson being a constant run-scorer often gets dropped from the team. As there are only 15 places in the team, it might have been difficult to choose, but considering his record, Samson should have been there in the squad, even as an additional wicketkeeper and added that they can make space for deserving players.
“Truly, I feel bad for him. He scores runs but he is dropped. I know you can only select 15, but I feel his batting suits the format. He has an average of 55-56, but he isn’t even there as a second wicketkeeper. When we talk about selecting him, people ask, in whose place? Places can be made,” Harbhajan said.
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