India announced full squad for the upcoming India vs South Africa ODI series. In the series, KL Rahul will be the leader as Shubman Gill is injured. The selectors have made some interesting call to make the squad. But why not Sanju Samson in the squad? The question arises.
Why not Sanju Samson in the squad?
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa. KL Rahul has been named captain of the team for the ODI series, which begins on November 30th. Regular captain Shubman Gill is out of action due to injury.
Batsmen like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravindra Jadeja, and Rishabh Pant have returned to the squad. However, Sanju Samson has once again been overlooked. Former cricketer Anil Kumble has raised questions about Sanju’s absence, saying that the selectors may have misjudged his recent form.
Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble believes that Samson deserves a place in the team based on his performances in the ODI format in the recent past. Anil Kumble said, “Another name I would like to see in the squad is Sanju Samson. Because I think he scored a century in the ODI he played a few years ago and I know he was not part of the Australia ODI squad. Rishabh Pant has been included in the ODI series against South Africa and he is making his ODI comeback after a long time.
Pant last played an ODI against Sri Lanka in August 2024. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain for the Africa series. Samson last played an ODI for India in December 2023, scoring 108 runs off 114 balls. Sanju has scored 510 runs in 16 ODIs, including three half-centuries and one century. The series will begin on November 30 in Ranchi and will be followed by matches in Raipur (December 3) and Visakhapatnam (December 6).
India’s ODI squad:
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.
