Just a few days remain for the squad announcement of the India Cricket Team for the IND vs ENG series and the ICC Champions Trophy. The deadline set by ICC is 12th January, but it is expected that the BCCI will announce it prior to the deadline. And in the grand scheme of things, Sanju Samson is expected to miss another ICC event, with the keeper unlikely to get a chance for the Men in Blue.
Sanju Samson is a regular starter for India in the shortest format of the game. And thus it can be expected that the Rajasthan Royals captain will find his name in the IND vs ENG T20I squad. But the same can’t be said for the ODIs and the ICC Champions Trophy squad.
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No place in ICC Champions Trophy
The keeper’s spot for Team India is filled. In fact, KL Rahul will be the preferred keeper over Rishabh Pant in the ODIs. While Sanju Samson is expected to be a part of the IND vs ENG series, he would likely be a part of the 5 T20I matches.
Be it in the top or middle order, there is no place for Samson to be accommodated in the Playing XI. Samson’s form in ODIs has been good thus far. Sanju scored a century in his last ODI innings and managed a healthy average of 45.00 over the last 2 years. Overall, he has only played 16 matches, averaging 56.66. In the last three ODI innings, Sanju has a century and a half-century,but it is till not enough to warrant a place in the Playing XI.
While he has already cemented his spot in the shortest format of the game, it would require something of astronomical proportions to add his name to the ODI squad. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Sanju Samson will be a part of the IND vs ENG ODIs and ICC Champions Trophy squad.
