Ganguly speaks of Sanju Samson’s India future, confirms his inclusion for SA ODIs

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was in all praise of Sanju Samson, and confirmed that the 27-year-old will return for India’s upcoming ODI series against South Africa.
 By CX Staff Writer Sep 29, 2022, 11:52 IST
Sanju Samson
Samson recently led India A to a 3-0 clean-sweep against New Zealand A in unofficial one-dayers.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly lauded Sanju Samson for his progress as a white-ball cricketer in recent times, and confirmed his inclusion in the India squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa.

Samson was one of the most notable exclusions from India’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad, with the non-selection still being debated upon. He led Rajasthan Royals during their run to the final at the IPL 2022, wherein they went down to Hardik Pandya’s Gujarat Titans, and has been in and around the white-ball setup since.

The 27-year-old recently led India A to a 3-0 series win over New Zealand A in an unofficial one-day series in Chennai, while managing scores of 29*, 37 and 54 in the three outings respectively.

Ganguly confirmed that Samson continues to be in India’s plans.

"Sanju is playing well. He played for India but just missed the World Cup,” Ganguly said before the start of the first T20I between India and South Africa at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 28. “He is in the Indian team's plans. He is now a part of the ODI team against South Africa. Also he has done well in the IPL franchise where he is the captain too (for Rajasthan Royals). He has done very well for himself.”

The former India captain was further in praise of young guns in Kerala, who have evolved and made their presence felt in the domestic circuit in recent times.

“I believe he is from Trivandrum. You [Trivandrum] have a lot of good players. Rohan Kunnummal got three centuries during the last Ranji Trophy. There’s a lot of talent in this part. Basil Thampi is also from here. So, there are a lot of talents in Kerala. It is no more a football-only state.”

India beat South Africa in the first T20I on Wednesday by eight-wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second T20I will be played in Guwahati on Sunday, October 2, followed by the third in Indore on October 4.

The two teams will then face-off in three ODIs on October 6, 9 and 11 respectively.

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