Irfan Pathan, the former Indian cricketer, expressed his deep sympathy for Sanju Samson, who was left out of the ODI series squad against Australia. He shared that he could relate to the bitter disappointment Samson must have felt had he been in a similar situation.
India has revealed a 17-member squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia that comes just before the World Cup. Notably, key players such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav won’t be part of the first two matches.
Reacting to India’s squad announcement for the three-match series against Australia, Irfan Pathan wrote on his X handle: “If I’m in place of @IamSanjuSamson right now, I will be very disappointed…”
Surprisingly, Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad were chosen ahead of Samson. Varma, who recently made his ODI debut, had a short spell at the crease, hitting just five runs in the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 encounter against Bangladesh. On the other hand, Gaikwad is gearing up to head the Indian team in the 19th Asian Games, representing the second-string side in Hangzhou, China, later this month.
Sanju Samson, who had previously missed out on a position in the World Cup roster, was classified as a reserve player for the just-finished Asia Cup 2023.
At 28 years old, Samson possesses a record of 390 runs in 13 ODIs, with an amazing average of 55.71, including three half-centuries. His most recent ODI appearance saw him hit 51 runs off 41 balls against the West Indies. While he has shown his versatility as a batsman in the Indian team, he has struggled to obtain a continuous opportunity to showcase his abilities.
India squad for the first two ODIs against Australia:
KL Rahul (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar.
India squad for the third ODI against Australia:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar.
