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India squad for Champions Trophy: Pant continues to bench Samson, Jaiswal could get maiden ODI cap

India squad for Champions Trophy: Pant continues to bench Samson, Jaiswal could get maiden ODI cap

All three haven't played a lot of 50-over cricket. Jaiswal hasn't played a List A match since November 2022; Samson's last ODI came in December 2023, and Pant has played just one ODI in the last 25 months.

For nearly a decade now, Sanju Samson has suffered because of Rishabh Pant. Time and again, when a team for any white-ball series is announced, Pant always pips Samson. However, in the last couple of years, due to Pant’s accident and Samson finally coming of age, the batter for Kerala has started to get his chances and prove his worth. Well, the clock has turned back once again. The India cricket team has named their squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, and Samson is nowhere to be found while Pant finds a spot.

Pant & Jaiswal leave no room for Samson

This time around, Samson isn’t even part of the reserves. With the batting lineup stacked, the Indian management has decided to go with two bowlers (Varun Chakaravarthy and Avesh Khan) and one all-rounder (Nitish Kumar Yadav). But weirdly enough, it wasn’t Pant who Samson was just battling for a spot in Team India’s squad.

Sanju Samson & Rishabh Pant: ODI stats comparison

InningsRunsAverageStrike Rate100s50s
Sanju Samson1451056.6699.6013
Rishabh Pant2787133.50106.2115

Yashasvi Jaiswal has also been picked in Team India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy. The southpaw who hasn’t made his ODI debut yet has been picked as the backup opener in case one of Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill isn’t able to continue. But that isn’t just what Jaiswal did. You see, Samson is a flexible batter.

We’ve seen him open the batting in T20Is and done exceedingly well. If given the opportunity, he could have been picked for the team despite Pant making the squad due to him being a southpaw aggressor who can flip the game on its head. But since such a talented batter in Jaiswal is present who averages nearly 54 and also has a double hundred in List A, Samson has to miss out.

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Sanju Samson has himself to blame for Champions Trophy non-selection?

In fairness, Samson has himself to blame. There was no update from him or the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) that he was injured. Yet, he wasn’t playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the only List A tournament scheduled before the ICC Champions Trophy.

Maybe things could have been different had he featured in the 50-over tournament. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) probed into why Samson didn’t play and perhaps ruled him at fault for the omission and didn’t include him in the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s List A record

MatchesRunsAverageStrike
Rate
100s50sHighest
Score
32151153.9686.1957203

India squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025

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