India T20 WC Squad: Sanju Samson Fans Protest: Miffed with Sanju Samson’s omission from India’s T20 World Cup squad, local fans are planning to stage a protest against BCCI. Samson who has a large local fan base in Kerala will wear T-Shirts with Samson’s pictures during India vs South Africa 1st T20 at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on September 28. Follow IND vs SA LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Sanju Samson was one of the hopefuls of T20 World Cup 2022 after a good return to the Indian squad. He also had a good stint in IPL 2022. However, it was Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant who got the nod for him being a left-hander. However, as things panned out, he has failed to impress selectors. In fact, his name was not even discussed during the BCCI Selection Meeting.
India T20 WC Squad: Furious with Sanju Samson SNUB from T20 World Cup squad, fans set to PROTEST during IND vs SA 1st T20, Follow LIVE Updates
Not just Samson’s fans, many experts were also surprised by the decision to omit Samson altogether. To put things into perspective, Sanju Samson has scored more runs than Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. But while he will play the ODI series against South Africa, there will be no place for him in the flight to Australia.
Comparison between Sanju Samson and other players in the Indian WC squad in terms of how they operate in individual phases.
Sanju is our best bet in overs 7-11 and 2nd best in overs 12-16.
How unlucky is he to miss out of India WC Squad?#SanjuSamson #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/8zPu18Lfz6
— Anurag ™ (@RightGaps) September 14, 2022
Sanju Samson is not part of India ??? Always treating badly …rishab panth is like son
— sujith kattoor (@sujithgopalan) September 14, 2022
Sanju Samson’s career is destroyed by BCCI politics. His batting looks effortless & dangerous when he is on song. BCCI is going to lose the service of a big player.#SanjuSamson#T20WorldCup#T20WorldCup2022#T20wc2022pic.twitter.com/Umynwhd7NL
— Cricket Videos🏏 (@Crickket__Video) September 12, 2022
India T20 WC Squad: Furious with Sanju Samson SNUB from T20 World Cup squad, fans set to PROTEST during IND vs SA 1st T20, Follow LIVE Updates
Why was Sanju Samson not selected?
One of the selectors explained that Hooda got the nod due to his bowling ability while Pant being the sole left-hander batter was preferred.
“Of course, Sanju has all the talent in the world. But it comes down to combinations. At present, we are a batting heavy side at the top. None in the Top 5 bowls. In case, someone suffers a niggle in the match, it becomes difficult. We wanted someone who can bowl 1-2 overs if needed. Hooda gives us that option. He has already proven his batting skills,” a member of the selection committee told InsideSport.
India T20 WC Squad: Why Deepak Hooda trumped Sanju Samson?
- Hooda has averaged 41.85 since making his debut in February.
- In 9 innings, he has scored a century and has three 30+ scores.
- He has also maintained a strike rate of 155.85.
- Sanju Samson in the meantime has averaged 44.75 in 5 innings.
- He has a strike rate of 158.40 and a half-century besides two 30+ scores in five innings.
- Yet, it was Hooda who trumped Samson in terms of selection.
- In IPL 2022, Sanju scored 458 runs at an average of 28.63 and a strike rate of 146.79.
- Deepak Hooda scored 451 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 136.67.
- It proves that both have been in neck-to-neck fight.
- Deepak Hooda gives India the 6th bowling option that would have been missing in Samson.
- It is unlikely that Hooda will find a place in the Playing XI with Axar Patel or Ravichandran Ashwin as preferred options.
- Sanju Samson is expected to get a call-up for the ODI series against South Africa.
India T20 WC Squad: Miffed with Sanju Samson SNUB from T20 World Cup squad, fans set to protest during IND vs SA 1st T20, Follow LIVE Updates
“It’s unfortunate that Sanju had to miss out. He is an extraordinary talent and that is why we have been monitoring him. But in the end, it is about team combination. We already have Dinesh and Rishabh as two wicketkeepers and it would have been futile to take another keeper to Australia. But it doesn’t mean that Sanju is not part of our plans. He will get his chance in the ODIs and in T20s in future,” the selector said.
However, it won’t be the first time that a fan base would launch a protest against the BCCI for omission of a particular player. Current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly’s fans in India also launched a protest during India South Africa match at Eden Gardens in 2005. A certain section of the fans also cheered South Africa instead of India.
India squad for ICC T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby players – Mohd. Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.
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