India leaving out Sanju Samson in ODIs

To his supporters - and there are many, just not in the places that matter - Sanju Samson is one of the most unfairly treated players in the history of Indian cricket.

It’s not a case without merit. There has been a sense that, at times, Samson’s best performances, are overlooked, and his low points overanalysed. His IPL record is enviable and the selflessness which should be a plus point has worked against him; he goes for the quick runs even when the Indian selectors have favoured the players with the biggest tallies. His captaincy and interviews reveal an original cricketing thinker, one not tied to the usual orthodoxies.

For these fans, Sanju Samson’s latest exclusion, from India’s ODI squad to face Sri Lanka, is more meat to their argument. His most recent innings in ODIs was an excellent maiden hundred to seal a series win in South Africa. On a surface that slowed as the ball aged, Samson, in a rare outing at No.3, tied the India innings together, combining fluency and safety in a way none of his teammates managed. It wasn’t an outlier either. It’s a small sample, but in 16 ODIs, he averages more than MS Dhoni and scores more quickly than Virat Kohli.

Dodda Ganesh, who played five times for India in 1997, is one of those in Samson’s corner. “Shivam Dube in place of Sanju Samson in the ODIs is ridiculous,” he tweeted soon after the announcement. “Poor Sanju scored a century in his last series against SA. Why him always? My heart goes out to this young man.”

It’s hard not to feel for Samson, and yet it’s also possible to see the logic in India’s decision. So why is this latest snub different? In short, because India have picked two wicketkeepers who they feel, with justification, are better bets.

KL Rahul was a lynchpin of their ODI World Cup campaign, which was dominant and serene all the way until the final. Rishabh Pant is a generational talent, and in the T20 World Cup helped take India one step further. Between them, and with the rest of India’s World Cup top four back in a near full-strength squad, India have the top five covered with a back-up. At No.6, they prefer an all-rounder, and have included Shivam Dube for that role.

It’s also in keeping with a regimented view on selection which has enabled India to rest and rotate while still holding firm to their first-choice XI. It’s most clear in the example of another wicketkeeper-bat, Ishan Kishan, who made a double-hundred against Bangladesh in late 2022 but was left out for India’s next ODI, against Sri Lanka, as Shubman Gill returned.

It takes plenty to upset the established pecking order, especially when the players ahead of you are as good as India’s first-choice team. With plenty more rotation expected for future series, Samson should get more chances. All he can do is keep making runs.

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