Former Indian opener and commentator Aakash Chopra questioned the national selection committee for not including the top-order batter Sanju Samson for the fourth and fifth ODIs against New Zealand.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra reckoned that Samson should have been included in the ODI squad for the forthcoming New Zealand tour, at least for the last two games when the red-ball regulars leave the team for Test preparations.
“Sanju hasn’t been kept now either. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Dhruv Jurel aren’t there. Ishan Kishan has been made the vice-captain there, but Sanju isn’t selected. Sanju’s ODI numbers are not that bad. He did well the last time he played,” Chopra said.
Further, Chopra asserted that Samson’s ODI career has come to an end, adding that the selection committee has gone ahead with Kumar Kushagra instead despite Samson having decent enough numbers in the 50-over format.
“Please give him an opportunity, but you did not. You said you would keep Kumar Kushagra, which is okay. His domestic numbers are good, but why not Sanju Samson? It means you have made up your mind about Sanju Samson from an ODI cricket perspective,” Chopra added.
Speaking about his ODI numbers, Samson has scored 510 runs at an average of 56.67 in 14 innings. In his last ODI, Samson scored 108 off 114 against South Africa in December 2023.
India’s ODI squad for the first three ODIs: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer [VC], KL Rahul [WK], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Kishan [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna*, Kuldeep Yadav
India’s ODI squad for fourth and fifth ODIs: Shreyas Iyer [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan [WK, VC], Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra [WK], Mohammed Siraj, Yash Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav
