Before turning 21, Sanju Samson had made his international debut. The wicketkeeper batter from Kerala already had three Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons under his belt. Shane Warne, who worked with him at the Rajasthan Royals, had tipped him as the ‘next big thing’ in Indian cricket.
In Rishabh Pant’s shadow
Warne wasn’t alone. This was a common belief. More than a decade later, Samson has played just 65 matches for India. He played in MS Dhoni’s shadow for a little while before Rishabh Pant usurped him as the designated wicketkeeper across formats. Pant, who made his debut in 2017, has played 10 more T20Is than Samson’s entire match tally.
Samson has been fighting Pant for years now. Test cricket hasn’t been his thing. Of late, the Keralite has been getting consistent chances in T20I cricket and was part of India’s title run at the Asia Cup. He’s exceptional in ODI cricket as well. After 16 ODIs, Samson averages 56.66 with one hundred and six fifties to his name.
But despite all this, Samson’s last ODI came in December 2023. He was picked in Sri Lanka last year but didn’t play. Then, he wasn’t included for the ICC Champions Trophy, with Pant getting the nod. Now that Pant hasn’t been considered, you’d assume that Samson would slot in for the India squad for the Australia ODI series.
Dhrub Jurel takes over out of nowhere
Well, think again. The selectors don’t think Samson’s the perfect fit. After years of battling with Pant, he has now been one-upped by Dhruv Jurel. The 24-year-old has played fewer List A matches than Samson has played ODIs. But he’s getting preferred.
Why? Chairman of Selectors, Ajit Agarkar, was asked. He stated that it was because of where Jurel and Samson bat. Given that KL Rahul is the current wicketkeeper and he bats in the middle order, usually at number five, the selectors want a like-for-like replacement. Agarkar explained that the selectors view Samson as a top-order batter. That’s why, for now, Jurel gets the nod.
“Sanju Samson bats at the top of the order. I think when he got a 100, I think he batted No. 3, if I am not wrong. Jurel usually bats lower down the order. KL (Rahul) bats there as well. You have seen how good a player Dhruv is. Again, you are looking at spots. I don’t think there is room at the top again. So, we are looking at guys who can fit in those spots. Obviously, Sanju at the moment in T20 cricket is batting there (middle order), and we are trying him there. But in one-day cricket, it’s a little bit different. So, that’s basically the thought. It’s more the position than anything else,” Agarkar said.
But the explanation makes it seem like the selectors haven’t really checked the numbers. Of his 14 innings, Samson has batted at numbers five and six a total of 10 times. In these instances, he’s scored 296 runs at 59.20 with a strike rate of 101.36 and two fifties.
India ODI squad for Australia
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal
Editor's Pick
Cricket
How Virat Kohli's 100 in Ranchi resulted in tickets for IND vs SA 3rd ODI getting sold out instantly
Top Stories
